Daimler Opens Sprinter Van Plant in U.S.

Daimler AG has opened a $500 million factory in North Charleston, S.C., to make Mercedes-Benz Sprinter delivery vans for the North American market.

The highly digitized “intelligent production” facility employs 900 workers, with the staff expected to expand to 1,300 by the end of 2020. The U.S. is the Sprinter’s second-largest market after Europe.

The plant triples to 222 acres the size of an existing complex in North Charleston that has been assembling Sprinters from kits since 2006. The new factory adds body, paint and final assembly operations, expanding production and office space to 1.8 million sq. ft.

The campus will build the just-introduced third-generation Sprinter, which will be marketed in North America under the Freightliner and Mercedes brands. Daimler says the facility has signed a deal to supply 20,000 Sprinters to online retailer Amazon.com, making it the world’s largest Sprinter customer.

The South Carolina complex also assembles Metris midsize vans (called the Vito in other markets) from kits.