Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Europe, Plants/Manufacturing, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury



Mercedes-Benz is continuing to see heavy demand for its compact models, like the CLA-Class, around the world, and Daimler has responded by adding a third shift at its Kecskemét, Hungary, factory starting in May. The plant, which builds the B-Class and CLA-Class, was already running two shifts and some Saturdays to keep up with their popularity, according to Bloomberg.

Early signs showed that the CLA-Class was doing well in the US, but limited supplies plagued dealers. The added Hungarian production should offset this, once they begin to arrive on these shores. Through the first two months of 2014, Mercedes has sold 4,404 of them in the US. The compact has also been bringing younger customers into Mercedes dealers. It buyers' median age is 46 years old, compared to 54 for the C-Class and 57 for the brand.

The new models' appeal has been helping Mercedes to stave off the growth of competitors Audi and BMW. Through the first two months of the year, the Four Rings has the lead by a few hundred units worldwide. The compacts have been Merc's main weapon in expansion with their sales up 29.7 percent through February.

In addition to Kecskemét, Daimler's Rastatt, Germany, factory has operating three shifts since October 2012. The automaker even has a contract with Valmet in Finland to build the A-Class to keep up with buyers desire for Mercedes' compacts. Scroll down to read Mercedes' full press release about the third shift. We've contacted Mercedes USA to get a better picture of how the CLA is performing in the US, and we'll update this story when we hear from them.Continue reading Mercedes CLA sales still red hot, factory adds third shift

Mercedes CLA sales still red hot, factory adds third shift originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Mar 2014 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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03-21-2014 05:29 PM