Managing Director Frank Klein said that work is proceeding accoridng to plan, and that the first car should roll off the production lines in Kecsketmét within eight months.

The factory complex structure was completed in December 2010, but it will still be a few months before full production begins in 2012.  The plant is expected to produce around 100,000 cars a year, mainly in the A-class range, and Klein is confident that the new plant will revitalize the area and become a magnet for hi-tech graduates and skilled workers.

Besides completing the plant, Daimler has stated that it would also be investing in local education, having signed an agreement with Kecskemét Mayor Gábor Zombor and Bács-Kiskun County Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman József Gaál in December 2010.  Under the agreement, Daimler will help the local authorities in developing a new educational system that combines both apprenticeships and vocational training.

The program will produce 100 graduates a year with the skills necessary to work for Daimlar - or for another player in the automotive industry.  The system will be based on the dual education system that already exists in Germany.

In total Mercedes-Benz plans to invest approximately EUR 800 million in Kecskemét.