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Smart brand will be built in China as a Daimler-Geely joint

FRANKFURT/BEIJING — Daimler will build its next generation of Smart electric cars in China through a joint venture with Geely, as a way to increase economies of scale in a market segment that is struggling to turn a profit. China's Geely built a stake of almost 10 percent in Daimler last year, saying it wanted to forge an alliance to develop electric and self-driving cars to better compete against new challengers such as Uber and Google. Daimler said on Thursday it would build the next generation of Smart-branded city cars at a purpose-built factory in China, and planned to share its expertise in manufacturing, engineering and design with Geely. The high cost of electric car batteries has made it hard for automakers to build affordable zero-emissions vehicles, leading several of them to strike alliances with Chinese partners. Daimler's German rival BMW recently unveiled plans to build electric Minis in China, where production costs are low and demand for small electric cars is rising. Daimler and Geely did not disclose financial terms of their deal. The details of the joint venture will be finalized by the end of 2019, they said in a joint press release. Daimler currently develops and builds Smart cars with Renault at factories in France and Slovenia. The Daimler factory in Hambach, France, will be retooled to build Mercedes-Benz cars. Geely has been expanding rapidly through mergers and acquisitions since 2010, when it acquired Swedish carmaker Volvo from Ford. Last year, Daimler and Geely set up a ride-hailing joint venture in China. Daimler's Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said last month the German carmaker was in talks to deepen its alliance with Geely after the Chinese's group's chairman Li Shufu bought a 9.69 percent stake in Daimler in 2018.

Mercedes picks Gensler to design new Atlanta HQ

Mercedes is planning to move of its US headquarters from Montvale, NJ, to Atlanta, GA – and with over a thousand employees to house, the project will surely be massive. In order to pull it off, the automaker is going to need the right architects. And Mercedes seems convinced that Gensler is the way to go. Never heard of Gensler? The San Francisco-based architectural giant (incorporated as M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates, Inc.) has done the headquarters for Facebook, Coca-Cola and General Electric. It designed the Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China, and crafted the master plan for the Olympic Games set to take place in Rio de Janeiro next year. It's done hotels, sports arenas, military facilities, airport terminals... the works. It also redesigned Cadillac's showrooms and Hyundai's new US headquarters, and among the many offices it operates in 46 cities and 16 countries around the world, it has a branch in Atlanta. So of the dozen firms Mercedes considered for the task, Gensler got the nod. The 250,000-square-foot facility is earmarked for completion in 2018, occupying a 12-acre plot at the corner of Abernathy and Barfield roads in Sandy Springs, Georgia. In the meantime, MBUSA is preparing to move temporarily from its current offices (pictured here) in Jersey down to another facility in the Atlanta area, also being set up by Gensler, in nearby Dunwoody – just a couple of miles down the road from where the permanent site will be. Mercedes-Benz USA Selects Gensler As Architect For New Atlanta Headquarters Facility Award-winning global firm to design 250,000-sq-ft office building in Sandy Springs, GA April 30, 2015 - MONTVALE, N.J. Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today announced it has selected Gensler as the architecture firm for its new headquarters facility in metro Atlanta. Gensler will design an approximately 250,000-square-foot office building that will house around 1,000 MBUSA employees upon its completion in 2018. "We talked to many, many firms and saw some amazing designs, but Gensler was the one that stood out for us," said MBUSA President and CEO Stephen Cannon. "They understood our brand and our culture, along with the ambitious goals we have for the next chapter of Mercedes-Benz in this market, and they were able bring that to life in their designs." MBUSA selected Gensler from a dozen global design firms for its creative building concept, which seamlessly integrates functionality and the beautiful surrounding landscape.

Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Audi announce Takata recalls

Daimler, Volkswagen, and Audi will recall nearly 1.7 million total vehicles in the US to replace their Takata airbag inflators. The Japanese parts supplier and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced in late January that several automakers would need to fix around five million more vehicles, and the various companies have been releasing the details since then. Daimler has a recall for 841,000 vehicles in the US, including 705,000 from Mercedes-Benz and 136,000 from the company's van division. Reuters reports the affected models consist of 2005-2014 examples of the SLK-Class, C-Class, E-Class, M-Class, GL-Class, R-Class, and SLS-Class. The vans comprise the 2007-2014 models of the Dodge, Freightliner, and Mercedes Sprinter. Autoblog reached out to Mercedes USA to confirm these details, and we're awaiting a reply. Daimler expects the repair campaign to cost 340 million euros ($382 million at current rates). The company will book the costs as part of its financial year 2015 results, and net profit for that year will fall to 8.7 billion euros ($9.8 billion). Volkswagen's recall covers 680,000 vehicles in the US to replace their driver side airbags. The affected models have Takata's SDI and PSDI-5 inflators, which could rupture in an crash, but the automaker isn't aware of any explosions for these parts in its products. This campaign includes: 2006-2010 Passat Sedan and Wagon (German Production) 2012-2014 Eos 2010-2014 Golf 2010-2014 Jetta SportWagen 2012-2014 Passat (U.S. Production) 2009-2014 CC There are also 170,000 Audi vehicles with the SDI and PSDI-5 inflators in the US, but there are no reports of the parts rupturing in the company's models. The affected products are: 2005-2013 A3 2006-2009 A4 Cabrio 2009-2012 Q5 2010-2011 A5 Cabrio VW and Audi are still working to identify the specific VINs for these vehicles. Afterwards, they will notify affected owners. Ford, Mazda, and Honda already announced details for their new round of Takata repairs. VW and Audi also recalled a small number of Tiguans and Q5s to replace their side airbag inflators from the Japanese company. NHTSA still expects BMW and Saab to detail expanded safety campaigns.