In the past decade, foreign automakers have teamed up with China's domestic auto companies in joint ventures to conceive innovative technologies and deliver localized products that have given domestic consumers more choices than ever.

This is particularly evident in the premium auto sector, with the latest models gracing the streets of cities across China as consumers enjoy higher incomes and more diverse lifestyles.

The synergy between European heritage in the auto industry and dynamism in China's local production is perfectly exemplified by Beijing Benz Automotive Co Ltd, BBAC for short, which combines Daimler's 125 plus years of experience with leading Chinese automaker BAIC Group's dynamism.

The joint venture's state-of-the-art plant, which was put into operations in 2006 and applied with Daimler's latest and greatest technologies as well equipment, is expected to be the German automaker's largest manufacturing facility in the future.

Thus, the BBAC plant is destined to become one of Daimler's main production hubs globally, representing not only high-quality products with the latest technologies, but also a precise, strict and rigid method in the manufacturing process, in addition to awareness and commitment to an environmental-friendly production process.

Diverse local models suit modern lifestyles

The first C-Class model rolled off the production line in 2008, further opening up the market for the Mercedes-Benz entry-level sedan, followed by the long wheel-base E-Class, specifically designed for the China market with extended legroom in the back for owners who enjoy the privilege of a chauffeur. "Nothing represents our long-term commitment to China better than the production of vehicles in China itself," affirmed Frank Deiss, president & CEO of BBAC.

"And with these localized premium cars we are delivering on our promise of 'The Best or Nothing' in exactly the same way as our vehicles made in Germany".

Building on the success of the C-Class and E-Class, production was diversified to include the GLK-Class SUV, with the first locally-produced SUV rolling off plant lines in December 2011.

With people in China leading more adventurous lifestyles as well seeking vehicles with the flexibility for city use, the GLK has proved to be enormously popular with Chinese consumers.

In May 2013, a new engine plant will start operations, providing BBAC as well as the Fujian Benz van joint venture with locally made four and six cylinder engines, with an overall capacity of 250,000 units.

This will be accompanied by additional investments in plant facilities that include a new production line to deliver the latest models from the Mercedes-Benz New Generation Compact Car family starting in 2014.

These investments will fuel Mercedes-Benz' strategy as it accelerates towards the 2015 goal of producing 70 percent of China sales locally.

Both quantity and quality

BBAC's focus is not just on quantity, but also quality. The quality management team is core to BBAC operations, independently reporting directly to the CEO, placing quality management at the highest priority.

This organizational structure ensures transparency of communication across the whole organization, and is firmly linked into the global quality appraisal system of Mercedes-Benz by a comprehensive communication network.

"Local production ensures that the growing demand for Mercedes-Benz cars can be satisfied more efficiently, and with a more agile response to the market," continued Deiss. "At the same time, throughout the entire production process, quality is key, and this starts at the beginning of the supply chain, with the selection and development of our suppliers."

All suppliers are audited by the quality management team to Daimler's strict global standards, and the majority of parts are tested in Daimler laboratories.

Production processes are audited to verify that they fulfill the automotive standard specifications of Mercedes-Benz worldwide, based on comprehensive quality systems structured around four main control loops: personal self-inspection, examinations at key production Quality Gates, section audits on each major manufacturing process, and lastly customer product audits at the end of the assembly line by highly-trained employees.

Notably, locally-produced vehicles are sent to Germany every year to conduct a series of comparison testing.

The results of this testing prove that the Mercedes-Benz cars produced by BBAC are at the same quality level as other Daimler plants worldwide.

As throughout every division of Daimler, personnel training and international know-how transfer is the foundation for consistent high standards. Each year, BBAC employees are sent to Daimler's German training centers, and Daimler employees are continuously present at BBAC to extend further guidance and support for on-the-job training.

Greener cars through green production

Producing cars in-line with Daimler's value of sustainable mobility, the BBAC plant itself embodies the latest in "green production".

"The plant was built from scratch as a green-field project," explained Deiss. "With breakthroughs in operational designs and huge investments, we've developed one of the most advanced auto manufacturing facilities in China that sets a benchmark for sustainability efforts within the industry."

Back in 2005, when its facilities were being set up, BBAC invested in "isolation layers" beneath its shop floors to maintain a gap that protects the ground below from being polluted. This ecological measure demonstrated BBAC's commitment to become the industry pioneer in "green production".

As part of its energy-saving efforts, BBAC installed solar panels on the roof of its new assembly shop to generate more than 3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, equivalent to saving 1,200 tons of coal consumption and about 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

In addition, this new assembly shop is designed with a geo-exchange heating and cooling system which helps to reduce the emission of carbon and reduces total energy consumption by 40 percent.

BBAC's rainwater collection system covers 1.6 million square meters of its facilities and minimizes water consumption by allowing up to 800,000 tons to be reused annually - a significant contribution to social responsibility. And to further minimize the emission of volatile solvents harmful to the environment during the vehicle painting process, BBAC will be applying a state-of-the-art process to its new paint shop to dispose of pollutants by condensation and then combustion, bringing the added benefit of converting pollutants to heat energy for reuse.

Even the small details have been worth working on: the company has replaced halogen lamps with Low Voltage Discharge Lamps to save over 50 percent of lighting costs.

BBAC aims to continue investing in the installation of environment-friendly technology in its manufacturing facilities, with a longer-term green strategy representing Daimler's trusted and sustainable partnerships in China.

Previous Page 1 2 3 Next Page

Previous Page 1 2 3 Next Page