The car manufacturer Mercedes is selling its factory in Virrey del Pino, Argentina. The plant, founded in 1951, is the oldest production facility of the former Daimler Group outside of Germany. The buyer is a group of shareholders led by the Argentine investor Pablo Peralta, owner of the holding company Grupo ST, as the Argentine daily newspaper “Norte” and the automobile portal “Arodarpost” report, citing sources from the industry. The sales discussions, which were accompanied by the management consultancy Deloitte, lasted for six months. When asked, Mercedes did not comment on the plans. According to information from the “Börsenzeitung”, the car manufacturer is having increasing problems recruiting staff at the plant. The factory was built on a greenfield site more than 70 years ago. Today, production is surrounded by slums and the security situation is difficult. The factory near the capital Buenos Aires is to be handed over with the workforce and a license to manufacture the Sprinter van by 2029 receive. The new owner should then convert the factory to producing its own models. In this context, there is speculation about possible collaboration with Chinese automobile manufacturers. Mercedes will no longer produce the new, purely electric Sprinter in Argentina, but will probably produce it in the United States with a completely new concept. More on the topic The world’s largest truck manufacturer Daimler Truck will also start producing Mercedes-Benz vehicles at the traditional location in give up in the coming years. The company opened a new logistics center in December in Zárate, 80 kilometers north of Buenos Aires. The manufacturer is investing $110 million in new production there, which is scheduled to go into operation in 2026. The factory will produce buses and the Accelo and Atego truck models using the so-called completely knocked-down process. The vehicles arrive at the factory as a kit and are assembled. Daimler Truck has attached production in Argentina to the group’s main South American plant in São Bernardo, Brazil, which produces the kits. Raúl Barcesat, head of Daimler Truck in Argentina, said in an interview this month that he expected strong growth of up to 2025 at 30 percent. He referred to the need to modernize the vehicle fleet, falling inflation and possible tax cuts. Trucks and buses are capital goods, Barcesat said. The falling inflation is benefiting the business as it makes it easier to renew the fleets. In Argentina, Daimler Truck has a market share of 70 percent for buses and 38 percent for trucks.
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