Vance – Mercedes-Benz is going green in Alabama. A pilot team is studying manufacturing and training changes that will have to be made at the company's plant in Tuscaloosa County to accommodate a hybrid version of its M-Class sports-utility vehicle, the ML450. The vehicle will be Mercedes' first gas-electric vehicle.
Teams of Alabama employees have been traveling to Germany to learn more about the hybrid, which is more fuel efficient.
The ML-450 is slated to hit the market in 2009. Mercedes announced production plans for the vehicle during this week's North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The M-Class was the first Mercedes made in Alabama in 1997, but the R-Class crossover and GL-Class full-sized sport utility have since been added to the production lineup at Vance.
The R-Class has failed to live up to sales expectations and a successor is in the works, according to Dieter Zetsche, chief executive of Mercedes parent, Daimler.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)