The new made-in-South-Africa C-Class will be exported to more than 80 countries, including the UK, says Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) production VP and CEO designate Arno van der Merwe.

He notes that South Africa is currently set to become the only supplier of right-hand-drive models for the global market, but that the East London plant will also produce a number of left-hand-drive models.

MBSA exported the previous C-Class model to the US, but this country now has its own C-Class plant. Three out of four previous C-Class models produced at the East London plant were exported to the US.

MBSA has seen investment of around R5-billion in its facilities since 2011.

Local test production of the new C-Class has already started.

The official start of volume production is set to kick off in the middle of the second quarter, with the start of exports to follow later in the second quarter.

Production of the new model will increase from the previous model’s 250 units a day to 420 units a day, employing a three-shift day.

This means the technical capacity at the plant will be around 100 000 units a year, says Van der Merwe. Roughly 85% of production will be exported.

MBSA last year produced 50 000 C-Class cars, and 5 600 trucks and buses. This is down from 2012’s 60 000 cars and 5 300 trucks and buses – a production record – as demand for the previous C-Class softened as the model came to the end of its life cycle.

The local arm of the German manufacturer sold a total of 84 000 units of the previous C-Class in South Africa.

Securing the production and export contract for the new, fifth-generation C-Class has created 800 new jobs, with 400 people employed by MBSA and 400 by an outsourced logistics service, says Van der Merwe.

With so many new markets to service, MBSA has to add “a new element to its outbound supply chain”.

Production of the new C-Class has seen the local introduction of several new technologies, says MBSA outgoing president and CEO Dr Martin Zimmermann.

These include complex laser welding, pressing of aluminium panels, natural fibre pressing and roll forming.

“We probably have the most advanced body construction [facility] in South Africa,” says Van der Merwe.

The new C-Class will, for example, feature aluminium-to-steel joints, which is “not usual”.

The sedan will have 50% aluminium in its body structure, which aids in making the new model 100 kg lighter than the previous model.

While the aluminium panels will be pressed locally, the material is not yet sourced locally, says Van der Merwe. However, doing so forms part of the long-term localisation planning for the new C-Class.

The new C-Class will use an average of 20% less fuel than the old model, notes Zimmermann.

The new C-Class brings with it ten new components suppliers to South Africa.

MBSA in February reported revenue of R43.5-billion for 2013, up 28.7% on 2012 numbers.

Earnings before interest and taxes were R2.64-billion, up 18.2%.

MBSA paid R1.12-billion in income tax in 2013, and R1.18-billion in duties.

The company will launch the new GLA in April this year, followed by the C-Class in June, says Zimmermann. These models will be followed by the S-Class S600 V12 in July, and the S-Class coupe in November.

MBSA commercial vehicles will see the introduction of compressed-natural-gas buses and the eighth-generation Canter, with the new V-Class arriving in early 2015.