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The road to China
Page 14
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• Mercedes-Benz has initialled a contract with China North Industries Corporation for the Chinese company to manufacture Mercedes-Benz lorries in Ulan Bator, Inner Mongolia. The contract, which is expected to be signed at the end of the year, lasts for six years, during which time MercedesBenz will help to build the factory which is hoped to produce 6,000 vehicles a year. Fourteen different types of Mercedes-Benz truck will be built at the factory, ranging between 16 and 36 tonnes GVW.
The cost of the new factory will be around .100 million and, although Mercedes-Benz says the money will come from the Chinese, Commercial Motor understands that a substantial part of the cost will come in the form of a loan from the West German government.
After four years of hard negotiation with the Chinese, the agreement is a major coup for Mercedes-Benz in its battle against the Japanese manufacturer Hino to become the world's largest lorry producer. The German company refuses to look at the deal in that way, and says: "We don't look at other competitors in that context but we are pleased with the contract."