FRANKFURT -- Daimler (IW 1000/18) announced Tuesday it planned to open another assembly plant in Brazil for its Mercedes-Benz brand to escape high import taxes.
The 170-million-euro (US$230 million) plant near Sao Paulo should begin turning out up to 20,000 Mercedes C class cars and its GLA SUVs annually in 2016.
"This local production will allow us to manufacture more competitively in Brazil, without the additional 30% in taxes," a Daimler spokeswoman said.
"This is obviously a good situation for us."
The factory will be Daimler's third in the emerging market, and will create 1,000 direct jobs at the site plus nearly 3,000 at suppliers.
"Brazil is an important future market," Daimler manufacturing chief Andreas Renschler said.
Last month, Daimler's rival Volkswagen group announced that its Audi brand would begin manufacturing in Brazil in 2015, after having stopped production there in 2006.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
