Mercedes-Benz has completed a €1bn ($1.14bn) expansion of its Kecskemét plant in Hungary.
The upgrade forms part of Mercedes-Benz Business Plan 2022–2026 that is aimed at “sustainably strengthening the competitiveness, efficiency and future viability of its entire production network”.
The site has grown from 200 to 440ha, making it Mercedes-Benz’s biggest plant in Hungary and one of the largest globally, the group noted.
Mercedes-Benz Group member of the board of management of production, quality and supply chain management Michael Schiebe said: “With the plant extension in Kecskemét, we are increasing the resilience and flexibility of our global production network. This site defines the future of our manufacturing: intelligent, connected, digital and consistently focused on efficiency, quality and sustainability.
“This enables us to competitively produce models such as the GLB and the new electric C-Class while at the same time strengthening the entire production network. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the team on site for their exceptional and passionate commitment.”
New additions include two halls for bodywork and assembly, an additional press shop, a new paint shop and a facility dedicated to battery assembly.
The plant will now build the electric C-Class, marking the first battery-electric core model manufactured there.
Under the company’s “local-for-local” approach, body components and drive batteries for the GLB and C-Class EVs will be produced on-site to reduce supply chain length.
Existing production lines will keep building combustion and electric models on a shared flexible line, while the newly built hall will be reserved solely for electric vehicle output.
Kecskemét operates alongside the Rastatt plant in Germany as part of Mercedes-Benz’s wider European manufacturing network, with links between the two sites allowing output to be adjusted according to demand.
A smaller version of the G-Class will be built exclusively at the Hungarian facility going forward.
The plant runs on digital production infrastructure including the MO360 platform, which links data on production, quality and supply chains across multiple sites.
It also houses a “Digital Factory Twin” – a full digital replica of an assembly hall developed on NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform, described by the company as its first such deployment.
According to the company, quality checks rely on AI-driven tools, including camera systems for detecting defects during manufacturing.
Mercedes-Benz Group sold 417,800 cars in the second quarter of 2026, an 8% year-on-year (YoY) decline, as gains in Europe and North America failed to offset a 30% drop in China.
“Mercedes-Benz expands Hungarian plant with €1bn investment” was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.