Mercedes-Benz invests in Alabama plant to produce X6 rival

The German based automaker Mercedes-Benz is planning to invest 350 million USD in its Vance, Alabama plant, to produce a rival for the BMW X6 under the MLC name.

Mercedes-Benz’s investment will create an additional 400 jobs and the MLC will be the fifth model to be produced at the Vance, Alabama plant, but don’t get your hopes too high about getting the new SUV anytime soon because its production will start in 2015.

The MLC will be part of an investment worth over 2 billion USD in the Alabama plant and the strategy will include the introduction of four new models over the next four years.

The success of the SUV-coupe X6 will be soon shared by the MLC but Mercedes currently says that its new model has nothing in common with the BMW, being based on the lines of the four-door coupe CLS.

The MLC could share the same platform as the ML and will benefit from the M-Class’ all-wheel drive without the special off-road capabilities.

There’s no word yet on the engines but the MLC might get a range between 265 and the AMG 544 horsepower and it seems that the new Mercedes-Benz model will be priced at around 75.000 EUR for the entry-level version.