PR2015 Oct 7

Press Information

Date:

October 7, 2015

Contact: Telephone:

Felyicia Jerald +1 205 507-3507

Daimler Communications, 70546 Stuttgart/Germany

Mercedes-Benz - Eine Marke der Daimler AG

Daimler Communications, 70546 Stuttgart/Germany

Mercedes-Benz – A Daimler Brand

Mercedes-Benz Donating Two Additional Sport Utility Vehicles to

Shelton State Community College

• Students to “build” an SUV during West Alabama “Worlds of Work” Career Expo

• Vehicle hand-over on Shelton State campus – Friday, October 9th at 1:30 p.m.

• Donation is precursor to the launch of the application process for the Mercedes-

Benz Automotive Technical programs

Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA – Middle and High School students interested in getting

their hands on a world-class luxury vehicle should head to Shelton State

Community College this week. The opportunity to get your hands on a Mercedes-

Benz engine doesn’t come along every day.

Mercedes-Benz U.S. International (MBUSI) and Shelton State today announced the

exciting news in their continued educational partnership. This Friday, October 9th,

MBUSI will officially give the keys for a Mercedes-Benz GL-Class and M-Class to

Shelton State for use in its automotive training program.

The Mercedes-Benz Automotive Systems Technical Program -- run through Shelton

State and the University of West Alabama -- helps to ensure the future of Alabama’s

automotive workforce. Students participating in the program have the added benefit

of working on these two new vehicles. In doing so, they will become better prepared

for careers in the automotive industry and will learn some of the technical

complexities of today’s vehicles. The application process opens Monday, October

12th for applicants interested in the next round of technical programs through

Shelton and UWA – set to begin in 2016.

“We are proud of our continued partnership with Shelton State to help further the

education of those interested in careers in the automotive industry,” said MBUSI

President and CEO, Jason Hoff. “The students working on these vehicles at Shelton

will hopefully one day be working side-by-side as Team Members at MBUSI. We

want to make sure they have the very best training possible.”

The vehicle donations are timed to occur during this week’s West Alabama “Worlds

of Work” (WOW) career expo, during which time over 4,000 eighth-grade students,

teachers, school administrations, parents, industry leaders, and volunteers from

seven counties in northwest Alabama will convene at Shelton State’s campus. All

WOW attendees will also have a chance to work on the GL-Class vehicle as part of a

hands-on building experience before the official handover occurs on Friday, October

9th at 1:30 p.m.

Members of the press are invited to stop by WOW to watch the build in action:

Thursday, October 8th

2:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Student Build

Friday, October 9th

8:30 a.m. – 1:05 p.m. - Student Build

1:30 p.m. - Vehicle Donation (Photo Opportunity in Automotive World)

About MBUSI

The Mercedes-Benz Tuscaloosa plant (Mercedes-Benz U.S. International - MBUSI)

was the first major automaker to open a passenger car facility in Alabama. To date,

Mercedes-Benz has made a $4.5-billion capital investment in the Tuscaloosa

operations. The plant was founded in 1995 and started production of the GLE

(Formerly M-Class) in 1997. The plant added the R-Class in 2005, the GL in 2006,

and the new C-Class sedan for the North American market in 2014. In August 2015,

production of R-Class vehicles was moved to the U.S. contract manufacturer AMGeneral

in Mishawaka, Indiana to free production capacities to be used for the SUV

series. The latest expansion is geared towards the next SUV generations including a

hybrid.

MBUSI produced more than 232,000 vehicles in 2014 and is on track to exceed

300,000 vehicles in 2015. To date, more than 2.2 million vehicles have rolled off the

plant's line for customers around the world.

Further information from Mercedes-Benz is available at: