By The Birmingham News
Paint shop employees at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Vance gather round the milestone vehicle.
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Mercedes-Benz said today that its Alabama plant has produced its 1.5 millionth vehicle.
The automaker said the milestone vehicle produced at the Vance factory was a silver ML 350 SUV destined for a customer in Encino, Calif.
"We are extremely proud of this significant milestone," Markus Schaefer, CEO of the Alabama plant, said in a statement. "This year has been both challenging and rewarding for our team members, who live and work here in Alabama to help us achieve our goal of delivering superior products to our global customers."
The 2012 M-Class represents the third generation of a SUV that Mercedes-Benz says began the industry trend toward SUVs with a car-like ride.
The first M-Class rolled off the assembly line in Vance on Feb. 14, 1997. The plant employs 2,800 people, a figure that will rise to 4,200 as Mercedes invests another $2 billion in the operation and begins production of new models.