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Johannesburg - Luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) said on Monday it had reached an export milestone, shipping 100 000 Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars to the US from its flagship plant in East London.
MBSA said it hit its 100 000-milestone on Sunday for the first time since it started producing the current C-Class model in 2007.
Rainer Ruess, manufacturing site leader at MBSA's local plant, described this record as "truly a milestone in our South African vehicle export history".
Last year, the company exported about 29 000 of these models. MBSA exports 70% of its locally produced C-Class to the US and the rest is sold to the domestic market.
The car maker also said it had shipped the record consignment of 3 280 locally built Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars to the US from its East London-based plant.
This is the single largest shipping consignment from MBSA, it said.
Ruess said this shipment reaffirmed that US customers were "very satisfied" with the South African build quality.
He said the local plant had received accolades for its product quality.
In July JD Power and Associates presented the platinum Award for Initial Quality to the MBSA plant, following a US survey conducted among more than 80 000 new US car owners earlier in 2010.
The East London plant was named the best plant in the world among all brands and manufacturers serving the US, Ruess said.
MBSA said it hit its 100 000-milestone on Sunday for the first time since it started producing the current C-Class model in 2007.
Rainer Ruess, manufacturing site leader at MBSA's local plant, described this record as "truly a milestone in our South African vehicle export history".
Last year, the company exported about 29 000 of these models. MBSA exports 70% of its locally produced C-Class to the US and the rest is sold to the domestic market.
The car maker also said it had shipped the record consignment of 3 280 locally built Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars to the US from its East London-based plant.
This is the single largest shipping consignment from MBSA, it said.
Ruess said this shipment reaffirmed that US customers were "very satisfied" with the South African build quality.
He said the local plant had received accolades for its product quality.
In July JD Power and Associates presented the platinum Award for Initial Quality to the MBSA plant, following a US survey conducted among more than 80 000 new US car owners earlier in 2010.
The East London plant was named the best plant in the world among all brands and manufacturers serving the US, Ruess said.
