The production of the CLA 250 and CLA 250 e Shooting Brake hybrid models is to start shortly at the Kecskemét Mercedes factory.
On Tuesday, upon the introduction of the hybrid Mercedes-Benz CLA models which are only manufactured in Kecskemét, Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics said it is essential that we have as many value-creating businesses in Hungary as possible as this serves our national interests, relies on and uses cutting-edge knowledge, creates high-tech manufacturing capacities and equally provides for sustainability and protects the environment. The Kecskemét automotive factory is one of the investments of strategic importance in Hungary which incorporates all of these features at once, he pointed out.
The production of the new models is an important milestone not only for the plant, but equally for the entire Hungarian automotive sector as this is taking place in a situation where the world’s automotive industry is facing an unprecedented economic challenge, he said. Mr Palkovics further mentioned that protecting and creating jobs is also a national interest. He recalled that the automotive industry accounts for almost a quarter of Hungary’s exports and for more than 5 per cent of Hungary’s annual GDP, while suppliers and other service providers add another 8 and 9 per cent, respectively, to this.
The Kecskemét plant provides jobs for more than 4,400 persons, and is one of the most significant employers both regionally and nationally, he listed. He stressed that the Ministry for Innovation and Technology is committed to ensuring that by 2030 ninety per cent of the energy produced in Hungary will be carbon dioxide-free, and by 2050 the country will become climate-neutral. However, climate protection criteria and criteria relating to the development of the economy can only be enforced in cooperation with industry players.
In this regard, Mercedes-Benz is exemplary. Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management for Production and Supply Chain Management of Mercedes-Benz AG said the production of the plug-in-hybrid CLA Coupé and CLA Shooting Brake is a new milestone of their electric offensive launched world-wide. With these new additions, Mercedes-Benz is extending its selection of compact vehicles to six models. He stressed that by the end of the year their portfolio will feature five fully electric and twenty plug-in-hybrid models. In ten years’ time, 15 per cent of all passenger cars sold will be electric and hybrid vehicles, and in less than 20 years they will succeed in developing a carbon-neutral fleet. He said the combined fuel consumption of the CLA 250 e Coupé is 1.5-1.4 litres, its combined electricity consumption is 15.1-15.0 kilowatt-hours at 100 kilometres per hour, while its combined carbon dioxide emission is 35-31 grams per kilometre. The CLA 250 e Shooting Brake model’s combined fuel consumption is 1.6-1.4 litres, its combined electricity consumption is 15.5-14.8 kilowatt-hours at 100 kilometres per hour, while its combined carbon dioxide emission is 37-33 grams per kilometre.
Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary Kft. Christian Wolff said in the past eight years the Kecskemét factory had managed to cut energy consumption and water consumption by 40 and 30 per cent per car, respectively, while they had managed to increase recycling to 100 per cent. He highlighted that “the Kecskemét factory is changing over step by step to the utilisation of green energy,” and so from 2023 its operation will be virtually carbon-neutral. The Managing Director also mentioned that due to the pandemic they had been compelled to stop production for five weeks; however, thanks to the precautions taken, they were able to resume production in April which is currently being conducted in two shifts. At the same time, from the beginning of the first week of August, production will return to three shifts again.
Mr Wolff said “the summer break planned for August is not another sign of the ailment of the automotive industry”. They need the production-free period due to another new “green model” as the introduction of the hybrid models of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class requires some changeover. With this step, they will achieve that all their models will be manufactured with both hybrid and internal combustion engines, the Managing Director added. Production started in Mercedes-Benz’s Kecskemét factory on 30 March 2012. The first series made in the factory built from EUR 800 million was the B-Class, this was followed by the four-door compact CLA in 2013, and the CLA Shooting Brake in 2015. The latter two models are only manufactured here for global markets. Since May 2018, the new A-Class has been a further addition to the product selection.
The production of the second generation of the CLA Coupé started in the Kecskemét plant in February 2019, while a few months later, in June the first cars of the new CLA Shooting Brake model made in serial production rolled off the production line. Last October, the production of three types of Mercedes-AMG Performance began as well.
In 2019 the net sales revenue of Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary Kft. amounted to EUR 3.7 billion; this is a 2.7 per cent increase on 2018.
(Ministry of Innovation and Technology/MTI)