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FRANKFURT, Sept 25 (Reuters) - German automaker DaimlerChrysler said on Thursday it was investing about $600 million in expanding its Mercedes plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
As a result, the workforce would be doubled to about 4,000 employees and annual production capacity at the 10-year old factory also will be doubled to about 160,000 vehicles, the company said in a statement.
The plant, which currently builds the M-Class sports utility vehicle, will in future produce the more luxurious Grand Sports Tourer -- which starts production in early 2005 -- as well as the M-Class successor.
"In Tuscaloosa we have impressively shown that we can produce a new production series with a new workforce in a new factory and we have also demonstrated that it is possible to have vehicles successfully 'Made by Mercedes' outside of Germany," Mercedes chief Juergen Hubbert said in the statement.
Since its launch in 1997, Mercedes has sold more than 500,000 M-Class vehicles in 135 countries around the world.
In addition to an initial investment of about $300 million, DaimlerChrysler spent about $80 million in 1998 and 1999, expanding capacity to about 80,000 units a year.
From 1999 to 2002, the M-Class was also built in Austria by Magna Steyr, the European vehicle assembly unit of Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc .
At 1346 GMT, DaimlerChrysler shares were down 0.8 percent at 30.90 euros, in line with its European peers .