“The decision about a new plant is a very rational process in which we compare all the aspects about educational level, workforce availability, logistics, infrastructure, how easy it is to do business in that country, distance to suppliers and customers,” said Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG said.
Romania can be a solution as Daimler has a positive experience in the country because it has a very good transmissions plant there, he added.
Mercedes-Benz’s latest plant in Europe was built in Hungary, which helped that country leave Romania far behind when it comes to car production numbers.
Daimler started at EUR300 million investment plan in its transmissions plant in Sebes in 2013, which will begin assembling the new 9G Tronic this spring, already manufactured in Germany, to meet rising demand that will lead to almost all new Mercedes models being equipped with it.
For a number of years, the group was able to grow fast worldwide and is now manufacturing at more than the installed capacity through additional shifts but will need additional production capacity at some point. It is now expanding in Brazil, South Africa and other countries such as China. The time will come when it needs a new plant in Europe and adding production capacity in Germany is unlikely because this is not where the growth comes from, Zetsche said.
Romania lost an over one billion euro investment in a new car plant to Hungary in 2008. One of the things Hungary had was clear infrastructure plans. Moreover, Daimler needs skilled people, which requires additional investment in schools and universities. Such investments would boost the income level, considering Romania is the second poorest EU country after Bulgaria.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)