Mercedes will localise one of its models specifically for the US market and assemble it in Alabama

Mercedes-Benz has a large plant in the United States, but most of the cars sold in the country are still imported. Now, amid President Donald Trump's protectionist policies, the German company has decided to change its approach. In 2027, production of a model aimed at the American consumer will begin in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Here's What We Know

Details are still scarce. In the press release, Mercedes only calls the novelty car from a "key segment" and emphasises that it will be adapted to the tastes of buyers in the US. Judging by the rhetoric, we're not talking about a brand new model, but rather a localised assembly of an existing model.

The current profile of the Tuscaloosa plant also speaks in favour of this: such SUV models as GLE, GLE Coupe, GLS, as well as electric EQE SUV and EQS SUV are assembled there. A logical candidate for the move could be the Mercedes-Benz GLC - the second most popular car of the brand in the United States and a representative of the so-called "Core segment". Now GLC is assembled in Germany and China, and also produced under licence in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Mercedes-Benz Chairman Ola Källenius said Tuscaloosa remains an important production centre for the company. He said expanding production in America is a logical step as the US market has been part of the brand's history for more than a century.

The company emphasises that this is a "local-for-local" strategy - that is, local production for a local market. Since launching in 1997, the Alabama plant has produced more than 4.5 million vehicles, and last year produced about 260,000. Nearly two-thirds of that volume went to export, making the company one of the largest automotive exporters in the US.

Source: Mercedes-Benz via Businesswire