Magna Steyr Expands Mercedes-Benz G-Class Production

VIENNA – Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik launches an extensively modernized and expanded Mercedes-Benz G-Class plant at its manufacturing site in Graz, Austria.

The automaker says it needed only five weeks to overhaul the 678,000-sq.-ft. (63,000-sq.-m) area to expand production capacity.

The main changes include the addition of a new assembly line and equipment upgrades throughout the plant to increase overall capacity and improve product flow.

Magna Steyr reportedly invested some €20 million ($27 million) in the expansion.

“With this investment, we are able to respond even more flexibly to the requirements of our valued customer, Mercedes-Benz, and we have created the basis for supplying high-quality G-Class units for many years to come,” Magna Steyr President Günther Apfalter says in a statement.

G-Class production is running 60 units per day on two shifts.

Plans call for the output of some 12,000 G-Class vehicles this year, which would mark a new record. Last year, Magna Steyr manufactured 9,850 of the SUVs.

The company expects even higher volumes in the future, Kurt Bachmaier, head of G-Class production at Magna Steyr, tells the Austrian news agency APA. At full capacity, the vehicle manufacturer can build up to 16,000 G-Class vehicles a year, he says.

The G-Class has been rolling off Graz production lines for 34 years, with more than 230,000 of the iconic off-road vehicles built during that time.

In 2012, the production contract between Daimler and Magna Steyr was extended for another seven years until 2019.

Magna Steyr employs about 1,500 workers in the G-Class operation.