Electric C-Class and small G-Class enhance Kecskemét

It is questionable whether Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius would have been quite so proud to show Viktor Orbán around the freshly expanded halls in Kecskemét. Orbán’s successor, Péter Magyar, certainly did not miss the opportunity to visit one of the country’s most important industrial projects in person and inspect the new production facilities alongside Mercedes-Benz management. The pro-European politician had replaced Orbán only a few months earlier, ending his 16 years in power.

Hungary had, however, been an attractive location for the automotive industry long before this political change. German manufacturers continued to invest there even as Orbán’s government became increasingly authoritarian, while Chinese companies have more recently stepped up their presence. Audi has produced in Győr for decades, while BMW has built a greenfield plant in Debrecen for the Neue Klasse. In the same region, CATL is constructing a battery cell factory with a planned capacity of 100GWh, while BYD is preparing its first European passenger vehicle plant in Szeged, in southern Hungary.

The world’s oldest carmaker could hardly afford to be absent from this industrial race. The growing importance of Kecskemét is reflected not only in the launch of the new electric C-Class. The electric GLC will also be built there in future, while the upcoming smaller G-Class has been allocated exclusively to the Hungarian plant. Mercedes-Benz has not yet disclosed when production of that model will begin.

Since 2022, the Stuttgart-based manufacturer has invested around €1 billion and more than doubled the plant’s footprint from 200 to 440 hectares. The expansion includes a second press shop, a new body shop, a paint shop, an assembly hall and battery assembly. Kecskemét is now Hungary’s largest automotive production site and, by area, the second-largest plant in the global Mercedes-Benz network.

The scale becomes apparent when driving across the site. The expansion required 10.5km of new roads, while around 8.5km of fencing surrounds the plant. A direct rail connection provides additional options for material supply and vehicle dispatch.

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Up to 400,000 vehicles instead of around 100,000

Kecskemét produced around 100,000 vehicles in 2024. According to plant management, the new facilities could eventually allow the site to scale up to as many as 400,000 units annually. Mercedes-Benz is not disclosing specific volume targets for individual models for competitive reasons.

The existing assembly operation can build combustion-engine and electric vehicles on the same line, while the new hall is designed for fully electric models. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz is establishing production links with other European sites. Kecskemét already works with Rastatt as part of the manufacturing network for the Mercedes Modular Architecture. In future, the electric GLC will be produced in both Bremen and Hungary.

This enables Mercedes-Benz to distribute volumes between plants according to demand and utilisation. It also intensifies internal competition. When several locations are capable of building the same model, productivity, launch performance and cost become increasingly important in the allocation of additional volume.

Kecskemét sets the benchmark on cost

During the C-Class launch in mid-July, management described Kecskemét as the European benchmark for so-called factor costs. These include not only wages and energy prices, but also working hours delivered, absenteeism, productivity, workforce skills and motivation.

This helps explain why Mercedes-Benz is allocating increasingly complex models to the site. The electric C-Class introduces more variants than the compact vehicles previously built there. Customers in the Core segment select a wider range of equipment, materials and personalisation options. Kecskemét therefore has to master not only higher volumes, but also a greater number of individual configurations.

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The site’s upgrading comes at a time when German vehicle plants are under pressure from high costs, fluctuating utilisation and growing international competition. Mercedes-Benz views China in particular as a kind of training ground for the competitive pressures increasingly reaching Europe. Kecskemét is intended to form part of the response, combining a comparatively favourable cost base with modern facilities and a flexible model structure.

1,200 robots and 14 joining processes

It is time for a closer look at the brand-new halls. The new press shop covers around 23,000 sq.m. A servo tryout press is used to prepare and optimise new and revised tools, while laser blanking systems cut sheet-metal blanks flexibly from coiled material. Almost all aluminium scrap generated in production is intended to be recycled.

In the adjoining body shop, around 1,200 industrial robots operate across 65,000 sq.m of production space. They use 14 different joining processes, including laser welding and stud welding. A further 20,000 sq.m is dedicated to logistics.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the required floor area has been reduced by 35% compared with previous body shop concepts. More compact structures shorten transport routes and reduce the need for conveyor systems. The bodies are then transferred across a bridge into the paint shop.

The new paint shop operates without natural gas

The new paint shop in Kecskemét covers around 50,000 sq.m and operates without natural gas. Its approximately 5km-long conveyor system moves bodies through electrically heated process stages and drying ovens.

According to the plant team, energy consumption is around 20% lower than in the existing paint shop at the site, equivalent to savings of more than 20,000MWh per year. Water consumption is expected to fall by around two-thirds, while emissions of volatile organic compounds are expected to decline by roughly 80%.

According to the plant team, around 15kg of paint and 130 metres of sealing material are used for each body. Mercedes-Benz is currently constructing a comparable gas-free paint shop in Sindelfingen.

245 stations across 620 metres

The new assembly hall is around 620 metres long and provides 67,000 sq.m of production space. A further 42,000 sq.m is dedicated to logistics and the integrated industrial park. An electric C-Class passes through 245 stations before completion.

Around one-third of the hall is reserved for logistics. Components are intended to be positioned as close as possible to their point of installation. Seats and wiring harnesses are produced by directly connected suppliers and delivered to the line without additional intermediate storage. Mercedes-Benz refers to this as a “One Roof” concept.

Material flow is also supported by a trailer yard directly connected to the hall and by the neighbouring industrial park. According to the plant team, Kecskemét currently has the most efficient logistics processes in the Mercedes-Benz production network.

Two cell chemistries on the same line

The battery cells are sourced externally and assembled on site into cell blocks, modules and complete packs. The battery architecture is designed so that both NMC and LFP cells can be processed on the same line.

Different package heights are also possible. The electric C-Class and the GLC use the same block height, while the GLB uses a more compact version. According to the plant team, the battery systems weigh around 550kg and store approximately 20% more energy than the previous generation within the same package dimensions.

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Two assembly lines supply both the northern part of the plant, where the GLB is produced, and the new production operation in the south.

Bonding instead of bolting

The biggest technical change concerns the connection between the cell blocks and the lower battery housing. Rather than being bolted in place as before, the blocks are now bonded. This reduces weight and is intended to improve contact with the cooling structure of the housing.

Before installation, 3D laser scanners measure both the battery housing and each individual cell block. The system then calculates the optimum position and the required amount of adhesive. A layer that is as thin and even as possible improves heat transfer and therefore supports thermal management during fast charging.

Once sealed, every pack undergoes complete testing. For the leak test, the battery is filled with helium. A robot then travels around the exterior and checks for escaping gas. This is followed by an electrical end-of-line test covering all relevant functions. Only then is the battery released to vehicle assembly.

Digitally planned, continuously optimised in production

Mercedes-Benz created a complete digital twin of the new assembly hall in Nvidia Omniverse before the physical hardware was installed. Planning, process development and productivity optimisation were therefore brought together in a single virtual model.

At the marriage station, where the body and drivetrain are joined, conveyor systems, technical centres and PLC-enabled equipment were connected virtually in advance. This made it possible to simulate disruptions along the line before real production began.

Digital twins are no longer a unique feature in automotive manufacturing. BMW follows a similar approach through its iFactory, while Volvo and other manufacturers are also increasingly planning and testing production systems virtually.

What is particularly relevant in Kecskemét is the end-to-end use of the technology. The model remains active after the launch and continues to be used to test changes to stations, workflows and vehicle variants.

MO360+ connects the vehicle and the workstation

On the shop floor, MO360+ controls vehicle sequencing and provides quality and process data at the workstations. Touchscreens show employees in real time the target status of each vehicle at the relevant station and whether any deviations have occurred.

If an issue is identified, the employee and team leader are automatically notified. An integrated Q-STOP function replaces the traditional wired pull cord. Employees can request support, stop the line immediately or trigger a stop after completing the current work cycle.

The main value lies less in the screen itself than in the connection between vehicle status, work instructions, quality and escalation. This allows errors to be assigned more quickly to a specific process step and fed back to the relevant station.

The Octopus system comes from China

During final inspection, the so-called Octopus system extends several camera arms into the interior and searches for irregularities. Another scanner checks the exterior surface, while smaller camera systems inspect mechanical areas and can detect, for example, connectors that have not been properly attached.

The technology was first used at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Beijing. According to the company, Kecskemét is the first European location to deploy the system. It is intended to become standard at further plants in future.

The AI flags scratches, dents and other potential defects, but does not make the final quality decision. That remains the responsibility of an employee, who evaluates the issue according to Mercedes-Benz quality standards. The system also feeds defects back to the station where they may have originated.

Training before working on the line

Dedicated training islands prepare employees for new processes. In cockpit pre-assembly, they first learn the sequence of work steps through video-based training before using tools or working on an actual vehicle.

A qualification matrix shows which employees are trained for which processes. The core battery assembly team was initially trained in Germany and at a sister plant in Hungary and is now qualifying additional employees for further shifts.

Despite growing competition for labour in Hungary, Mercedes-Benz does not currently see an acute staffing shortage in Kecskemét. The manufacturer points to wages, the Mercedes-Benz Academy, cooperation with educational institutions and its own childcare facilities. The new BYD plant around 90km away in Szeged has also not yet had a noticeable impact on recruitment.

Photovoltaics cover a quarter of energy demand

A 27.4MWp ground-mounted photovoltaic park has been built on 240,000 sq.m of land west of the plant. Together with the rooftop systems, the site now has an installed capacity of 42.3MWp.

The systems are expected to generate around 45,000 to 50,000MWh of electricity annually and cover approximately 25% of the plant’s energy demand. There is currently no stationary battery storage system. Mercedes-Benz is assessing whether such a system could be operated economically.

Kecskemét remains without megacasting

The plant is not designed for large-scale structural casting. Megacasting would require different presses and a fundamentally different process chain. Mercedes-Benz is therefore continuing to rely in Kecskemét on a highly automated body shop using conventionally joined individual parts and assemblies.