Mercedes-Benz assembles M-Class SUV in Indonesia

Mercedes-Benz assembles M-Class SUV in Indonesia

Mercedes-Benz has started assembling the M-Class SUV in Indonesia at its Wanaherang, Bogor plant in West Java. The German carmaker has spent between 20 to 30 million euros in the past two years to modernise its assembly plant, Jakarta Globe reports.

“This is a perfect year for the growth of Mercedes-Benz in Indonesia. After introducing the ML 350 4MATIC in June, we decided to assemble the M-Class series with a perfect detail and quality,” said Claus Weidner, president director of Mercedes-Benz Indonesia.

“The model is locally assembled which proves that Indonesia is a potential market for Mercedes-Benz. It also reflects the strength of Indonesian talents who are able to assemble with high precision and discipline. Our decision indicates that the investment climate in Indonesia is conducive to the growth of our business,” Weidner added.

The ML 350 4MATIC assembled in Indonesia is the same variant of the third-gen W166 that’s sold in Malaysia. Launched here in July, the SUV is powered by a 3.5 litre V6 engine with 306 hp and 370 Nm. It is priced at RM570,888. With this development, will we get a cheaper Asean-made ML?

Click here for pics and our test drive report.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • sleepwalkerz on Nov 23, 2012 at 9:42 am

    Why not Malaysia? Why must be Indonesia? What is our G doing?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 30 Thumb down 12
    • Vader on Nov 23, 2012 at 10:01 am

      at current situation, bolehland manufacturing sector will even far behind indonesia and vietnam after 5 years!!!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 40 Thumb down 7
      • Evoque still a better choice compare to this SUV.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 6
      • Made in Germany on Nov 23, 2012 at 4:33 pm

        You want me to spend RM580,000 for a car that is Made in Indonesia? Seriously? I rather buy Porsche Cayenne. People in Malaysia buy German cars because its supposedly Made in Germany.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 6
      • Made in Germany on Nov 23, 2012 at 4:46 pm

        By the way, last time CBU Germany, this car was RM580,000. Now, its like CBU from Indonesia and still at RM580,000? What about the AFTA tax benefit and all that? Now, if it is Made in Thailand or Indonesia, it should be far cheaper.
        By the way, this car is ONLY US$47,270. So, it works up to a record 4x the price in Malaysia.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 18 Thumb down 2
      • We have the “Asia’s answer to BMW” car manufacturer in Malaysia mah.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
    • well boleh people said assemble in malaysia no quality laa..substandard la…better cbu la..etc…still some people has nerve to ask assemble in boleh..to confuse..to confuse

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 5
      • boleh people has no interest for local assembly.. many commenter here just hate local assembly..eg some bmw assemble here..boleh people said no quality…then why the hell car maker want to assemble here

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 16 Thumb down 3
    • Simon Ng on Nov 23, 2012 at 2:01 pm

      Malaysia is going “upscale”. We do rare earth processing. Not only that, our next generation might even glow in the dark.

      :-( I weep for Malaysia.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 14
    • The reason is very simple: Indonesia is much bigger than Malaysia. Indonesia is the fifteenth largest country by purchasing power parity and has 238 million potential customers.

      It doesn’t have too much to do with salaries, otherwise car companies would build their cars in Myanmar or Laos. In Myanmar or Loas the salaries are ever lower than in China… ;)

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
      • Finally, someone with some common sense. Business and politics don’t mix. Business is a matter of math and probability.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 1
  • Mozilla Chrome on Nov 23, 2012 at 9:44 am

    Malaysia could be a better place to build assembly plant but with our automotive policy, big carmakers not interested to do it here. Ich gratuliere Msia!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 16 Thumb down 7
    • moreless indonesia policy same as boleh..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 5
    • hello on Nov 23, 2012 at 3:10 pm

      it’s not due to NAP. NAP only for car pricing in Malaysia… cars manufactured in Malaysia but sold abroad won’t be affected… Many manufacturers are turning away from Malaysia is due to expensive labor compared to other ASEAN countries beside Singapore & Malaysia.

      With the on going drive for higher wages, I expect the trend of foreign manufacturers to chose other country over Malaysia is inevitable.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 0
      • skypirate on Nov 23, 2012 at 5:31 pm

        and bolehland with be in a rat race, caught in the middle income trap while the once much less developed countries gonna surpass bolehland in less than 20 years.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 4
      • skypirate on Nov 23, 2012 at 5:35 pm

        why it is not the NAP fault? the whole point of the NAP is to protect Proton and Perodua, while at the same time jacking up the price of foreign makes. oh wait, the NAP is also used by the Proton and Perodua to rip off the people’s money with their less than stellar cars while the government collects ALOT of tax money on foreign made cars. malaysians are the only nationality in the world that enjoys to be double penetrated, by both Proton, Perodua and the government.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 5
        • NAP is just one factor of many. NAP is not the cause of all the problems in Malaysia’s automarket. Look at Japan and Korea for example. Both have their own NAP. Still, their car companies have built various factories around the world, most notably in China and India. Does this mean Korean and Japanese NAP policies are to blame ? I don’t think so.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 3
        • hello on Nov 27, 2012 at 5:32 pm

          How is not NAP’s fault? Cost price of building a car won’t be affected by NAP. But cost of a price can be influenced by price of labor,manufacture, and raw material.

          NAP only tax car being SOLD in malaysia. NOT car being MADE in Malaysia.

          I hope you learned something.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • skypirate on Nov 23, 2012 at 5:36 pm

        why it is not the NAP fault? the whole point of the NAP is to protect Proton and Perodua, while at the same time jacking up the price of foreign makes. oh wait, the NAP is also used by Proton and Perodua to rip off the people’s money with their less than stellar cars while the government collects ALOT of tax money on foreign made cars. malaysians are the only nationality in the world that enjoys to be double penetrated, by both Proton, Perodua and the government.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Abdullah on Nov 23, 2012 at 9:46 am

    Under Dr M our national auto policy has gone to the
    dogs.
    His son is in MITI to continue his legacy.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 27 Thumb down 10
  • oko028 on Nov 23, 2012 at 10:21 am

    MB not assemble in M’sia :-(
    Thanks to our govt beloved proton!!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 9
    • kenot on Nov 23, 2012 at 10:40 am

      hello bro..check the fact first..we have assemble mercedes benz car at pekan pahang. even the flagship model S500 also assemble here. maybe MB plant here focus on sedan car.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • _xXx_ on Nov 23, 2012 at 10:46 am

    wow, bapak of indon otomobili industri oso…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • start-a-fight on Nov 23, 2012 at 10:56 am

    S class is assembled in Malaysia in Pekan Pahang by MTB.

    Vietnam and Indonesia labor force is cheaper than us and Malaysian did not buy that much M class to justify the work to build it here but in Indonesia, lots of them rich one bought this.

    and as uncle sam loo would say. M class RV is very low.. better buy fortuner.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • eventually MB will even withdraw the rest of the plant from Pekan to Indonesia. Thanks to our beloved corrupted G. there are bringing us to nowhere. here is a real life example, during 60s Malaysia’s GDP was way higher than South Korea and Taiwan. But n 2012, both of the countries has GDP 3x higher than Malaysia. lol.. i think we r the oi country in Asean that is going backward.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 7
  • azrai on Nov 23, 2012 at 11:22 am

    Another direct and instant result of our NAP. Malaysia boleh!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 7
  • toyol on Nov 23, 2012 at 11:34 am

    MB got an assembly plant in Pekan, Pahang.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • mokkf on Nov 23, 2012 at 11:58 am

    Our G would have tax it more since it will be imported into here. More earnings for them…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • S-Class, E-Class and C-Class already being assembled in Pekan, Pahang. FYI

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • We already build the E and I think, C classes in Malaysia , so why complain.
    But it’s true that the NAP only just to shoo away foreign investor and in one way or another , benefit a certain companies. How will Malaysia ever going to survive the increasing competition in the ASEAn region. Countries like Myanmar , indo and Vietnam is opening up to investors.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • do u all forget that mercedes still assemble their cars in Pekan, Pahang

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
  • Jimmy on Nov 23, 2012 at 1:01 pm

    Good for Indonesian rich men. Disaster for us.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 4
  • leroycharlie on Nov 23, 2012 at 1:47 pm

    Our country is so blessed by GOD that the chosen people in Malaysia do not need to struggle at all, yet all luxury will be given to the chosen people on silver plates. Let the Indonesian build the Mercedes while the finished products will be driven by the chosen Malaysian for free.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 4
  • buy proton last on Nov 23, 2012 at 4:40 pm

    Yeah say what u want….MB assemble here or indon or cbu can most of us here afford to buy one….how long has MB been assembling their C,E n S class in our boleh blah land? Still we the common people cant afford to buy the ageing 2nd hand unit….face it boleh land people! With our bloodsucking tax structure….sampe kiamat pun takan mampu beli merc baru hahahahaha….hidup la dgn protong mahadir n perodua najib tu sampe mati….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • SUV lover on Nov 24, 2012 at 12:19 am

    Regardless of where will it be assembled…still can’t afford it..sad

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Justin on Nov 24, 2012 at 2:45 am

    Article didn’t mention Malaysia will be getting CBU M-Class from Indonesia, just an idea from Danny on ASEAN ML.

    FYI, MB has been assembling C, E and S Class in Indonesia since 1987 and also in Malaysia. So nothing new here.

    http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/11/22/mercedes-starts-new-assembly-line-new-m-class-model.html

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Jilbaber on Nov 24, 2012 at 5:08 pm

    Let Merc ask indon to assemble their car lah..at least less indon PATI will come here tearing apart our country safety..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 4
 

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