Mercedes is facing problems: what happens to production

Mercedes again reduces production at the Sindelfingen plant due to a shortage of parts in Ukraine.

The Mercedes-Benz Group said its German factories were operating, although the carmaker had been forced to make some adjustments to the Sindelfingen plant due to the supply chain disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sindelfingen, which builds the carmaker’s flagship sedans, S-Class and EQS, and E-Class continue to operate despite a lack of parts, a Mercedes spokesman said.

Mercedes is in close contact with its suppliers “to work together on solutions to secure our supply chains,” the statement said.

It also includes relocating production volumes to other locations of their suppliers.

“The situation is being reassessed on a daily basis,” the statement said. “The high flexibility of the plants will also be used to avoid downtime as much as possible.”

The carmaker has so far overcome supply blockages for cable harnesses and other parts relatively easily.

Its German plants in Rastatt and Bremen are operating smoothly for the most part this week.

The industry is severely affected

Like its rivals BMW and Volkswagen, Mercedes mainly supplies its wiring harness from suppliers in Ukrainian factories, including Leoni.

Leoni has around 7,000 employees in two production facilities in Ukraine, which are currently working in extremely difficult conditions.

The supplier is stepping up production of wire harnesses at its two factories in Ukraine – with workers operating in night resort conditions and the risk of rocket attacks.

Since the beginning of the war, only 40 percent of the regular production has been made.

“We now expect to be able to use about 60 to 70% of our capacity in Ukraine again with the two-shift system,” Leoni CEO Aldo Kamper said recently.

Capacity is being transferred to other factories in Romania, Serbia or North Africa, he said.