German automaker Daimler on Thursday stated it was looking forward at ways to mitigate the effect of a trade war between China and the United States, a step which consist of a review of whether to move some U.S. production to Asia.
Since July, the Mercedes-Benz GLE sports utility vehicle which is constructed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is being hit by tariffs when it is exported to China, damaging Daimler profits.
Asked if Daimler would consider manufacturing the Mercedes GLE at its factory located in Beijing, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche stated, “Of course we look at when parameters change, and how one could react to this, and whether we can set ourselves up in a better way.”
“We are thinking about such matters, but so far we have not come to a decision.”
Zetsche added that recalibrating the production footprint was expensive and time consuming since it also needed reconfiguring the supplier network.
