Company News

[March 7^th, 2024, Beijing] As one all-new E-Class L rolled offline as the five millionth vehicle, BBAC’s cumulative vehicle output has exceeded 5 million units. Previously, in the fourth quarter of last year, the M254 engine equipped in the all-new E-Class L model reached a similar milestone as the five millionth engine produced by BBAC. With these two accomplishments, BBAC has officially entered the "double 5 million” era for the output of both vehicles and engines, setting a new record for producing a million units in unprecedented time, and beginning a new chapter of high-quality development.

The Legendary E-Class: A New Beginning and a New Foundation

In 2005, BBAC’s first locally-produced Mercedes-Benz vehicle was the W211 E-Class, the 8th generation of the E-Class model, marking the very beginning of the company’s manufacturing journey. From this beginning, the E-Class model has witnessed BBAC’s milestones of million-level output many times.

In 2016 and 2020, the locally-produced V213 E-Class L, the 10th generation of the E-Class model, helped BBAC usher in two major milestones, the 1,000,000th and the 3,000,000th vehicles to come offline. With its excellent product quality, this E-Class model has not only been favored by more than one million Chinese customers, achieving good market performance time and again, but has also won many industrial honors such as the top ranking in the China Automobile Customer Satisfaction Index (CACSI) evaluation of midsize and large luxury sedans, the distinction of Top Safety Car in the China-New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP) evaluation, the top ranking in the China Initial Quality Study (IQS) evaluation of midsize luxury sedans, as well as the top ranking in the China Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study evaluation of both midsize luxury sedans and midsize and large luxury sedans, and the first place in the China Automobile Quality Research (AQR) evaluation of luxury sedan quality and experience.

Now, at the start of 2024, the locally-produced V214 E-Class L, the 11th generation of the E-Class model, has once again made history, helping BBAC enter the “5 million” era. At this new starting point, the locally-produced E-Class L also includes a plug-in hybrid model with an electric driving mileage exceeding 100 kilometers, serving as a new foundation for growth and accelerating the electric transformation of BBAC.

Five Million Vehicles: Both a quantitative and Qualitative Milestone

Starting from the E-Class models, BBAC has launched a total of 13 models including C-Class, GLC and EQE, becoming the first luxury vehicle manufacturer in China to achieve full coverage of sedans, SUVs, pure electric vehicles and high-performance vehicles. Currently, BBAC has 11 Mercedes-Benz models in production: the EQE SUV, EQE, EQA, EQB, Mercedes-AMG A 35 L 4MATIC, A-Class L Model, C-Class L Model, E-Class L Model, GLC L, GLB, and GLA. This diverse product portfolio fully covers “top-end luxury”, “core luxury” and “entry luxury” models. In the future, more new products will be continuously introduced.

While constantly enriching its product portfolio, BBAC continues to accelerate forward. The progress from one-million-unit milestone to the next has been achieved in a shorter and shorter time span: 11 years, 2 years, 22 months, 21 months, and 20 months. These successive breakthroughs in million-level output have been made possible thanks to its ever- upgrading manufacturing infrastructure, the constantly improving production processes and the advanced production concepts of BBAC.

Over the years, BBAC has implemented three major platforms, MFA, MRA and electric vehicles, in its factories as well as setting up an Engine Plant and the Battery Plant. On this basis, the production mode of BBAC has completed numerous major advances, realizing the essential transformation from the pure production of vehicles to the production of core components and the mastering of core manufacturing processes, as well as the comprehensive evolution from “Made-in-China” to “Intelligent Manufacturing in China”.

At the same time, BBAC has consistently promoted the application of MO360, the Digital Production Ecosystem of Mercedes-Benz Cars Operations, and constantly improved the digital intelligence level of its production lines and quality management systems. While realizing the efficient mixed-line production of pure electric, hybrid and conventional-fueled models, BBAC works to ensure the excellent quality of every vehicle.

Currently, BBAC is deploying a new generation of Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA) and MB.EA pure-electric platforms, accelerating its efforts in fostering new productive forces and laying a solid foundation for its next move in electrification.

A Team of Over 10,000 employees: Not Only the Foundation But Also the Future

In addition to benefiting from the increasingly improved comprehensive hard power of production, the continued breakthroughs of million-level output for BBAC vehicles is especially supported by seven employee innovation studios, over 5,400 highly skilled technicians, and an international team of over 12,700 employees.

In recent years, in order to constantly expand its talent advantage, BBAC has launched a new apprenticeship program for 10,000 employees, and has trained nearly 10,000 employees with skills such as the installation, commissioning and maintenance of new energy vehicles and the operation and maintenance of industrial robot systems, covering more than 90% of shop-floor employees, which provides a strong boost for the company’s product quality control, production efficiency improvement and constant improvement of productivity. With effective management results, BBAC recently won the Quality Management Award of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, which marks another milestone in the process of high-quality development.

Facing the ongoing transformation in the automotive industry, BBAC has also established talent training platforms such as the New Energy Talent Center, the Electric Product Forum, and the Digital Intelligence College. The company is constantly increasing its efforts to enrich and improve its talent training models and mechanisms, promoting the transformation and upgrading of the existing technical talent team to unleash new energy, digital intelligence and low carbon development, thus cultivating the high-level talents to effectively develop its new productive forces and ensure the sustainable and high-quality development of BBAC in the future.

Standing at the new starting point of the “double 5 million” in the output of both vehicles and engines and guided by the strategies of both BAIC Group and Mercedes-Benz Group, BBAC is determined to accelerate its “electric, digital and low-carbon” transformation for the future, constantly promoting its own high-quality development while leveraging its new productive forces to contribute more to the automotive industry and the economic development of Beijing.