By the end of the decade, Daimler will establish a truck plant in the Czech Republic for the Mercedes brand and another large plant in the United States primarily for the Freightliner and Western Star brands.
In Europe, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is continuing to systematically strengthen the future viability of its European production network. The plant in Wörth am Rhein, Germany, (state of Rhineland-Palatinate) is—and will remain—the lead and largest volume plant within the network. The company plans to expand the existing network in the future by adding a vehicle assembly and manufacturing site in Cheb (Karlovarský/Karlsbad region), Czech Republic.
Painted cab bodies will be supplied from Wörth. Subject to all pending approvals—among others by the Cheb city council—the company plans to begin construction next year, with ramp up of the new European network concept targeted for the end of the decade. The goal is to further enhance the efficiency, resilience, and flexibility of all sites within the network in light of increasing complexity caused by a growing variety of product variants.
In the United States, Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) has announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in an unidentified U.S. location to expand production capacity and meet rising demand across North America.
DTNA announced in July that it will move the remaining production of Freightliner and Western Star truck lines away from its Portland, Oregon, manufacturing plant—where Freightliner has built trucks since 1942—to the Carolinas by the end of the year.
The facility, wherever it is located, will focus on vocational and on-highway truck production, incorporating flexible assembly systems and automated manufacturing technologies to adapt to changing vehicle configurations.
“It will be the largest manufacturing plant in the U.S. for trucks when all is said and done,” said O’Leary, adding the company is evaluating multiple potential locations, prioritizing sites with access to skilled labor, established supply chains, robust transport infrastructure, and favorable business conditions.
While a final site has not been selected, O’Leary said construction is scheduled to begin later this year, with operations targeted to start in 2029.
PSR Analysis. Mercedes brand expansion in Europe appears to be driven primarily to reduce cost by transferring production from a high cost Germany to a lower cost Czech Republic. In recent years, Poland has been a good option for lower cost medium and heavy vehicles and will continue to be so in the future. The trend of European OEMs moving production to lower cost countries is expected to continue over the next decade as manufacturers seek to significantly reduce the cost of their vehicles as competition continues to strengthen in both their domestic and export markets.
In the Unites States, DTNA recently closed its assembly plant in Portland which typically produced 8,000 – 10,000 Freightliner and Western Star trucks annually. The current volume will primarily be transferred to the plants in Mt. Holley and Cleveland. The decision to close the Portland plant was primarily driven by reducing production costs. The Portland plant closure is not a surprise, since DTNA has been discussing this for years. Adding a brand new plant with a minimum capacity of 30,000 trucks, for example, would certainly provide Daimler with ample capacity moving forward and the ability to consolidate manufacturing operations if need be. PSR
Chris Fisher is Senior Commercial Vehicle Analyst
