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The CEO of Mercedes-Benz on Thursday signaled the company plans to invest more in the U.S. in the coming years and also discussed how tariffs could impact the automaker’s business.
Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said on a call with reporters after the company announced its quarterly earnings results that it has “been operating in the United States for more than 120 years” and has “invested tens of billions of dollars into the United States.”
“We have two large operations on the passenger car side, one in Alabama and one in South Carolina,” Källenius said. “Directly, we employ more than 11,000 people in the United States. If you would count in all the suppliers and the ones that kind of are dependent on those final assembly jobs, the usual calculation is roughly 1-to-10, so another 100,000 jobs are associated with those plants. Our dealer partners, strong private investors around the country, employ 28,000 people and then again, they have a residual effect. “
“The several hundred thousand jobs, tax revenue, etc. is the Mercedes-Benz footprint in the U.S.,” he explained. “What’s the point I am making? The point is we’re also an American company. Yes, we have our headquarters in Germany and our European origins, but we feel American.”
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Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said the company is opening to increasing its investments in the U.S. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Källenius noted that Mercedes-Benz has research and development activities in Silicon Valley as well as a presence in Michigan. He also indicated that the company plans to increase its investment in the U.S. to expand that footprint going forward.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MBGYY | MERCEDES-BENZ GROUP AG | 15.5863 | -0.26 | -1.66% |
“What’s the road ahead? We are prepared to continue to invest billions and we want to grow our footprint in the United States. We are committed,” he said. “A little known fact — we are one of the major industrial exporters out of the United States. Two-thirds of the vehicles that we make in our Tuscaloosa plant actually go out into the world, a significant part of them obviously to Europe.”
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Källenius said Mercedes-Benz is mindful of how policy changes could impact its cash flows and, in turn, its investment opportunities. (AFP / Getty Images)
Given Mercedes-Benz’s global presence, Källenius said that changes in tariffs or other aspects of trade policy could impact its investment decisions over the long-term. President Donald Trump signaled Wednesday that he is planning to impose 25% tariffs on imported automobiles.
“So shifts in trade policy in…
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