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Daimler Communications, 70546 Stuttgart, Germany Mercedes-Benz A Daimler Brand Start of Production at the Mercedes-Benz Kecskemét plant First Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake Rolls off the Line Kecskemét plant adds third model to production portfolio CLA Shooting Brake second model series to be produced exclusively in Hungary Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management: "The start of production of the new CLA Shooting Brake marks the fifth successful ramp-up for our new generation of compact cars in our global production network." Stuttgart, Germany/Kecskemét, Hungary Less than three years after its opening, Mercedes-Benz' youngest plant in Kecskemét, Hungary has passed another important milestone: With the official start of production of the Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake, the second model series to be exclusively produced in Kecskemét after the Mercedes-Benz CLA is rolling off the line. Plant manager Thomas Geier and his team welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes- Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, to the celebration of the start of production. "The start of production of the new CLA Shooting Brake marks the fifth successful ramp-up for our new generation of compact cars in our global production network", said Schäfer. Around 150,000 B-Class and CLA-Class vehicles were produced in Kecskemét last year, and 300,000 units have rolled off the line at the plant since it started production in 2012. In this way, the Hungarian plant makes an important contribution to the growth of the particularly successful compact car segment within the global production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars. Unit sales rose by 24.7 percent to 463,152 A-Class, B-Class, CLA-Class and GL-Class vehicles sold in 2014. Mercedes-Benz has never delivered so many compact vehicles to its customers in a single year. The CLA, which is produced exclusively in Kecskemét, has been very successful in its single most important Press Information January 20, 2015

Mercedes Benz CLA Shooting Brake Press Release

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Page 1: Mercedes Benz CLA Shooting Brake Press Release

Daimler Communications, 70546 Stuttgart, Germany

Mercedes-Benz – A Daimler Brand

Start of Production at the Mercedes-Benz Kecskemét plant

First Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake Rolls off the Line

• Kecskemét plant adds third model to production portfolio

• CLA Shooting Brake second model series to be produced exclusively in

Hungary

• Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars,

Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management: "The start of production of the

new CLA Shooting Brake marks the fifth successful ramp-up for our new

generation of compact cars in our global production network."

Stuttgart, Germany/Kecskemét, Hungary – Less than three years after its

opening, Mercedes-Benz' youngest plant in Kecskemét, Hungary has passed

another important milestone: With the official start of production of the

Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake, the second model series to be exclusively

produced in Kecskemét after the Mercedes-Benz CLA is rolling off the line.

Plant manager Thomas Geier and his team welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister

Viktor Orbán and Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-

Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, to the celebration of

the start of production.

"The start of production of the new CLA Shooting Brake marks the fifth

successful ramp-up for our new generation of compact cars in our global

production network", said Schäfer. Around 150,000 B-Class and CLA-Class

vehicles were produced in Kecskemét last year, and 300,000 units have rolled off

the line at the plant since it started production in 2012. In this way, the Hungarian

plant makes an important contribution to the growth of the particularly successful

compact car segment within the global production network of Mercedes-Benz

Cars. Unit sales rose by 24.7 percent to 463,152 A-Class, B-Class, CLA-Class

and GL-Class vehicles sold in 2014. Mercedes-Benz has never delivered so many

compact vehicles to its customers in a single year. The CLA, which is produced

exclusively in Kecskemét, has been very successful in its single most important

Press Information

January 20, 2015

Page 2: Mercedes Benz CLA Shooting Brake Press Release

Daimler Communications, 70546 Stuttgart, Germany

Mercedes-Benz – A Daimler Brand

Page 2 market, the USA, almost doubling unit sales to 27,000 vehicles in 2014. Overall,

Mercedes-Benz sold more cars than ever before last year. The brand with the star

delivered 1,650,010 vehicles to customers (+12.9 percent), thus posting the

fourth record year in a row.

"The team in Kecskemét has proven that 'made by Mercedes-Benz in Kecskemét'

is a true success story. From the very start, we have been making top-quality cars

in accordance with our global production standards", said Schäfer, who went on

to thank all of the plant's Hungarian partners on behalf of the company for their

continuous and constructive partnership: "We would not have been able to write

this success story in Kecskemét without the support of politics, the administrative

authorities and society. We will continue to rely on this good cooperation." One

example of this support is a low-interest export promotion loan totaling 90

million euros, which the company will use for financing of further investments in

the Kecskemét plant in the future.

Thomas Geier added: "Of course, the entire team of the plant is especially proud

for the opportunity to produce the CLA and now the CLA Shooting Brake

exclusively for customers around the world. We are aware of the responsibility

that comes with it and will build on our achievements to date with consistent top

performance."

Investments in the Kecskemét plant to date total around a billion euros. After

spending 800 million euros on the construction of the plant, the company has

continued to develop the facility, last year above all in preparation for the

production of the CLA Shooting Brake. This involved recruiting and intensively

training many new employees, which brought the workforce to almost 4,000

people by the end of 2014.

About Mercedes-Benz' global compact car production

The premium compact cars of Mercedes-Benz are based on a common front-

wheel drive architecture and are currently produced in a flexible production

network of the Rastatt and Kecskemét plants. The B-Class was the first of the

new generation of products whose production started at both plants (Rastatt:

since September 2011, Kecskemét: since March 2012). The new A-Class has

been made in Rastatt since July 2012. The second product from the Kecskemét

plant has been the CLA which started to roll off the line in January 2013.

Production of the GLA compact SUV started at Rastatt in December 2013. The

Page 3: Mercedes Benz CLA Shooting Brake Press Release

Daimler Communications, 70546 Stuttgart, Germany

Mercedes-Benz – A Daimler Brand

Page 3 fifth new compact model, the

CLA Shooting Brake, has been produced at Kecskemét since January 2015. The

Rastatt plant has been operating in three shifts since October 2012, the

Kecskemét plant since May 2014. Thanks to the common architecture, all models

can be produced in any order or volume at either location, which allows volumes

to be distributed within the network depending on the current level of demand on

the market.

Since August 2013, additional capacity has been available for the production of

the A-Class in the form of a contract manufacturing arrangement with Finnish

production specialist Valmet Automotive. In addition, production of the GLA for

the Chinese market will start in the first half of 2015 at the Beijing production

location of BBAC (Beijing Benz Automotive Corporation – a joint venture

between Daimler and its Chinese partner BAIC Motor).

About the Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake

The new Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake ensures maximum leisure value

and at the same time underscores the CLA's high design standards. The roof

contour also slopes down gently to the rear, yet at the same time more headroom

is offered than in the four-door coupé. The CLA Shooting Brake is initially

available with two diesel engines, four petrol engines and the all-wheel drive

system 4MATIC and only costs around 600 euros more than the four-door coupé.

The CLA Shooting Brake can be ordered since January 15, 2015, and the first

cars will be arriving at European dealerships in March 2015. The entry-level

model in the CLA Shooting Brake range is the CLA 180 (29,809.50 euros - all

prices: recommended retail price in Germany, incl. 19% VAT) with 90 kW (122

hp). Above it are the CLA 200 (32,725 euros) with 115 kW (156 hp) and, each

with 155 kW (211 hp), the CLA 250 (39,746 euros), the CLA 250 4MATIC

(41,947.50 euros) and the CLA 250 Sport 4MATIC (45,577 euros) models. The

desire for superior dynamism is met by the top model, the CLA 45 AMG

Shooting Brake (57,268.75 euros), featuring an attractive technology package.

Contact:

Matthias Krust, +49 (0) 711 17-41928, [email protected]

Sebastian Wahle, +49 (0) 711 17-41264, [email protected]

Current images from the start of production will be available on Daimler's media

site www.media.daimler.com from about 3:00 p.m. CET on January 20, 2015.

Page 4: Mercedes Benz CLA Shooting Brake Press Release

Daimler Communications, 70546 Stuttgart, Germany

Mercedes-Benz – A Daimler Brand

Seite 4

Further information about Mercedes-Benz is available online:

www.media.daimler.com and www.mercedes-benz.com