China - September 18, 2024

Mercedes-Benz speeds up digital transformation to tap Chinese market

(Voice_over)

Beijing Benz, the 20-year joint venture between Mercedes-Benz Group and Chinese automaker BAIC Motor, is accelerating the digital transformation of its factories in China to remain competitive in the world's largest passenger vehicle market.

AI powered inspection robots installed at the company's general assembly shop have doubled the efficiency of human workers in monitoring quality control.

And at the body workshop, the automation rate has reached 98 percent with more than 1,200 robots working to streamline production.

Data collected by the robots is uploaded to the MO360 digital production ecosystem to assist workers in decision-making.

The company's CEO says the system has improved its production efficiency by over 15 percent with cars rolling off the assembly line every 45 seconds.

(Sound_bite)

Joerg Bartels, President & CEO, Beijing Benz Automotive Company:

"The MO360 system is actually a great production system that we facilitate and use here. It's actually partially developed in Germany for Mercedes-Benz cars, but with a lot of contribution here of our Chinese experts here, making use of AI and also big data, and I think the things we need in this assembly process connecting all the relevant processes we have, starting from the supply chain with our suppliers, over assembly, over quality insurance and also the maintenance of our equipment here at the line."

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Beijing Benz has become the largest production base in the group's global network.

Over the past five years, Mercedes-Benz has invested nearly 1.5 billion US dollars in R&D in China, and plans to further expand its footprint in the future.

(Sound_bite)

Joerg Bartels, President & CEO, Beijing Benz Automotive Company:

"So taking the advantage here of the Chinese expertise and the speed gives us a great opportunity not only here but for the whole Mercedes-Benz operations worldwide. And we will obviously expand, as we did in the past, and we continuously grow here in China. And we will continuously work on expanding our footprint here in China."

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According to Mercedes-Benz's data on the Chinese auto market in the first half of this year, more than 350,000 new vehicles were delivered, with second-quarter deliveries rising nearly 10 percent compared to the first.

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