Daimler gives up the Hambach location in France
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The German car manufacturer Daimler will build the Smart in China and has sold the previous Smart plant in France to the British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe wants to build a car in Hambach, France, that will compete with the British Land Rover Defender.
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Off-road vehicle Grenadier 4×4 to compete with Land Rover Defender
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The Smart plant in Hambach, France, goes to British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. The Stuttgart car manufacturer Daimler sealed the sale to Ratcliffes Ineos Automotive, which wants to build the Grenadier 4×4 SUV in Lorraine, which will compete with the Land Rover Defender. Like the Jaguar brand, it is now part of the Indian Tata Group and is now manufactured in Slovakia.
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For a transition period of two years, the two-seater electric Smart is to be assembled in Hambach near the Saarland border, which Daimler then wants to produce in China, as a spokesman said. 1300 of the last 1600 employees at Daimler and its suppliers in Hambach go with the new owner, around 300 did not accept Ineos’ offer.
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Workforce is partially taken over
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Ratcliffe, who became known as one of the most prominent Brexit supporters, belongs to the petrochemical company Ineos. Its subsidiary Ineos Automotive will take over the shares in Smart France in the next few weeks as soon as the final details have been clarified, Daimler announced. With that, hopes are dashed in Wales, where Ratcliffe actually wanted to start production of the Grenadier with around 500 employees. A Ford plant with 1,700 employees had been closed there. A new plant in Portugal should deliver the body.
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“Hambach offered us an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up: to buy a modern automobile plant with a world-class workforce,” said Ratcliffe, explaining the change of heart. The proximity to Germany is an advantage because of the supply chains and potential sales markets. The grenadier is due to roll off the production line in Hambach at the end of next year. Until then, electric smart production is to continue and the plant is to be converted.
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Daimler did not want to comment on the purchase price. Additional depreciation is not expected in the fourth quarter. The goal of securing employment at the site has been achieved, said Mercedes board member Jörg Burzer. Daimler opened the Smart factory in Hambach in 1997, and it was considered a figurehead for car production. So far, more than two million copies of the two-seater have been built for the city.
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