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German automaker Mercedes-Benz said Tuesday it will invest $4 billion at its Alabama plant through 2030 to boost SUV production as it tries to tackle significant U.S. auto tariffs.
In total, luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz said it plans to invest more than $7 billion in U.S. operations in the coming years.
The company is moving up to 500 jobs from various locations around the country to a new, state-of-the-art research and development center in Atlanta.
Automakers are facing high tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on imported vehicles and parts.
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Mercedes-Benz plans to invest $4 billion in its Alabama manufacturing facility. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
Mercedes-Benz said last year it would move production of its GLC SUV from Germany to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
In February, Mercedes said the group’s operating profit had more than halved to 5.8 billion euros, partly due to 1 billion euros in tariff costs.
Mercedes said U.S. passenger car sales rose 1% last year to 303,000.
MERCEDES-BENZ CEO SIGNALS POTENTIAL FOR MORE INVESTMENTS IN THE US
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MBGJJ | MERCEDES-BENZ GROUP AG | 15.25 | +0.52 |
+3.53% |
Mercedes North America CEO Jason Hoff said in a recent interview with Reuters that the GLC’s planned move is partly due to tariffs.
Having localized production for the highest volume products “just makes good business sense,” Hoff said, citing the impact of tariffs.
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Early last year, Mercedes-Benz said lower tariffs – or even zero-zero tariffs – between the US and the European Union could allow the company to increase investment in the US even further.
Mercedes-Benz plans to expand its presence in the US as a way to limit tariff costs. (Elia Nouvelage/Reuters)
Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said in February 2025 that the company “has been operating in the United States for more than 120 years” and detailed the company’s U.S. footprint.
“We have two major operations on the passenger car side, one in Alabama and one in South Carolina,” Källenius said. “We directly employ more than 11,000 people in the United States. If you include all the suppliers and those who rely on those final assembly operations, the usual calculation is roughly 1 in 10, so there are another 100,000 jobs associated with those factories. Our dealer partners, strong private investors across the country, employ 28,000 people and also have a residual impact. “
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“The several hundred thousand jobs, tax revenues, etc. constitute Mercedes-Benz’s footprint in the US,” he explained. “What’s the point I’m making? The point is that we are also an American company. Yes, we have our headquarters in Germany and our European origins, but we feel American.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
