Mercedes-Benz Sells Car Factory in Iracemápolis (SP) to Chinese Great Wall Motors

Now It’s Official! Great Wall Motors Has Bought the Mercedes-Benz Factory in Iracemápolis-SP. The Chinese Company Will Expand Production at the Factory to Produce 100 Thousand Vehicles Per Year

Mercedes-Benz announced the sale of its automobile factory in Iracemápolis-SP to Great Wall Motors. The sale includes the factory where the C-Class and GLA models were produced, which ceased production in December of last year. Additionally, the sale includes the 1.2 million m² plot of land, along with production equipment and buildings. It is worth noting that the Mercedes-Benz Testing Center and Proving Ground, which are being built next to Bosch in Iracemápolis-SP, are not included in the deal.

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Great Wall Motors Will Expand Its Automobile Production at the Factory in SP

The Mercedes-Benz factory in Iracemápolis-SP was announced in 2013 and began operations in 2016. Before it closed in 2020, its production capacity was 20 thousand vehicles per year. Now, Great Wall Motors claims it will expand the annual capacity of the plant to a much larger and more optimistic figure of 100 thousand vehicles.

According to Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG and also responsible for Production and Supply Chain Management, with the transformation of the company and the realignment of global automobile production capacity, Mercedes-Benz is sustainably increasing its production efficiency.

With the sale to Great Wall Motors, a buyer has been found that will create a new perspective for the future, both for the factory and the SP region.

Learn About the Next Steps for Great Wall Motors After the Purchase

With the sale of the factory in SP, which was closed for a year, Mercedes-Benz in Brazil will continue its operations at the units in São Bernardo do Campo, responsible for producing trucks, bus chassis, and aggregates, in Campinas, focusing on Parts and After-Sales Services, Global Training, and Reman, as well as at the factory in Minas Gerais, which produces truck cabins.

Regarding automobiles, the automaker emphasized that it will also maintain its 50 dealerships spread across Brazil. As in other countries, the estimate is that Great Wall Motors will arrive as an importer and soon afterward, local production will begin.

The company has good vehicles, such as the midsize pickup Great Wall Series P, which has received various accolades in the Asian and Oceanic markets. Its size is larger than the Toyota Hilux and its engine is a 2.0 turbo with 200 horsepower.

Get to Know Great Wall Motors

Great Wall Motors was founded in 1984 and has been manufacturing cars since 1993. The company operates in several South American countries through importers, but its operations in Chile are the most prominent, with a total of 2,435 registrations last year.

The company has been studying the Brazilian automobile market for over 10 years, having previously had a representative in Brasília in 2009. At that time, the company imported the midsize SUV Hover, which cost around R$ 70,000, but the venture was not successful.