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About Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. (MBUSI)

Mercedes-Benz announced in April 1993 that it would build its first passenger vehicle manufacturing facility in the United States. This decision emphasized the company’s globalization strategy and desire to move closer to its customers and markets. In September of 1993, after an extensive, six-month site selection process, the company chose Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, as the location for its $300 million plant. Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. (MBUSI) was formed to fulfill the goal of assembling the Mercedes-Benz M-Class Sport Utility Vehicle for the worldwide market.

Construction of the plant was completed in July 1996. Operations began in January 1997, and the first M-Class vehicles went on sale in the U.S. in September of that year.

MBUSI created a new corporate culture, based on teamwork and open communication. The combination of German & American team members, with experience from U.S. and Japanese automakers, as well as from Mercedes-Benz, made the “melting pot” in terms of its practices, procedures and corporate culture.

In 1993, original projections were for 65,000 M-Class vehicles to be assembled at the Tuscaloosa plant each year. Because of overwhelming demand, MBUSI invested an additional $80 million in 1998 and 1999 to expand the plant and increase annual output by 20% to 80,000.

Besides Body, Paint and Assembly shops, also located on the Tuscaloosa site are a comprehensive training facility, a visitor center, a childcare and a health and wellness center.

As a result of the worldwide success of the M-Class (now called the GLE), Mercedes-Benz has continually invested, expanded, and more than tripled operations at MBUSI.   We assemble the GLE, GLS, GLE Coupe, and the Mercedes-Maybach GLS for the world market. MBUSI also added the EQE SUV and EQS SUV in 2022 and the EQS SUV Maybach in 2023. 

Roughly two-thirds of the components used in MBUSI-assembled vehicles, come from North American suppliers, with the remainder coming from suppliers all over the world. About 30 first- and second-tier suppliers are now located in Alabama.

Nearly two thirds of the SUVs produced in Alabama are being exported to almost every country in the world.

THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MBUSI:

  • MBUSI has been located in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama since 1995
  • MBUSI is the first large Mercedes-Benz plant outside Germany
  • MBUSI is the first major automotive plant in the State of Alabama – serving as the catalyst for additional OEM, automotive suppliers, and supporting businesses to come to the area
  • MBUSI currently employs around 6,100 Team Members with an estimated additional impact of 57,000¹ jobs with suppliers and service providers in the region.
  • MBUSI has, so far, invested more than $7 billion including $1 billion to start production of electric passenger cars, expand the plant’s logistics activities, and to build a battery factory
  • The MBUSI Consolidation Center started operating in 2019
  • Construction activities for the battery factory started at the end of 2018; the battery factory launched operations in 2022
  • MBUSI assembles the GLS, GLE, GLE Coupe and the Mercedes-Maybach GLS exclusively for the world market, MBUSI also added the EQE SUV and EQS SUV in 2022 and the EQS SUV Maybach in 2023
  • Nearly two thirds of our SUVs assembled at MBUSI are being exported to almost every country in the world
  • More than 4 million vehicles have been assembled since 1997
  • There are almost 200 U.S.-based suppliers with localization rate continually increasing.

¹Based on estimates from the Economic Policy Institute that every direct job in vehicle manufacturing supports 9.4 additional American jobs.

MBUSI