There is no secret that, following the success of the big 4-door-coupe Mercedes-Benz CLS, the german brand made the decision to create a little brother, to boost sales of life-style division. Thus, the Mercedes-Benz CLA was born. And now CLA is a big hit for Daimler. A little bit too big…
The problem has arised in the USA, where sales of the little CLA exploded beyond expectations. Dieter Zietsche, CEO of Daimler AG, said in an interview: “we could have sold twice as many vehicles (in the US), easily, compared to our planning”. The initial allocation of cars sold out very fast, and after almost one year from the launch on US market, sales of the little CLA fell, because o shortage of supply.
That’s why this month the board of Mercedes-Benz made the decision to add a third shift at the Kecskement, Hungary, plant that builds the Mercedes CLA. And more of these cars are going to be sent to the US, where the little CLA has a very interesting starting price for a good-looking Mercedes: only 30.825 USD.
The german officials expect now the same “problem” to hit the new GLA crossover in the US market, which means that, in the near future, Mercedes-Benz could decide to open a new plant for it’s front-wheel drive family.
