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Mercedes CLS Production Start Signals The Beginning of a Third Generation

The all-new Mercedes CLS four-door coupe might mark controversial design and powertrain changes, but it's still a hugely successful car for the German brand. As such, the start of production at the Sindelfingen factory is probably reason for celebration.
Mercedes CLS Production Start Signals The Start of a Third Generation 24 photos
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
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Mercedes takes things slowly, but sticks to the schedule. The CLS III was under development for so long that we literally heard dozens of rumors. After being shown last year at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, this bad boy is now in production and getting ready to ship out across the world.

Here's a shot of the first few examples rolling off the assembly line. The gentlemen are Michael Bauer (left) and Ergun Lümali, Chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen Works Council (right). They look like just the kind of people to buy the new CLS. Do they get employee discounts?

“The Sindelfingen team has once again demonstrated its motivation and many years of experience in the successful start-up of the new CLS. The start-up of the third generation of the vehicle in series production shows the flexibility that characterizes our production at the Sindelfingen plant"
, Michael Bauer says.

Proving once again that Mercedes should have called it the CLE, the CLS is made on the same assembly line as the E-Class sedan and the E-Class T-model. While there's an E63 with a big V8 engine, the CLS stops at its Mercedes-AMG 53 flavor, powered by a tweaked version of the inline-6 found in regular models.

The original CLS, which was launched back in 2004, was based on the W211 E-Class and also rolled off the Sindelfingen line. It was also made from SKDs in Toluca, Mexico. For the record, Mercedes only sells a few tens of thousands of these a year. And we think the model is being continued simply because so many people think it's the coolest Benz around town. But that couldn't stop the CLS Shooting Brake from being discontinued.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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