Mercedes Opens New Manufaktur Shop With More Customization Options
Luxury automakers often have special programs that allow buyers to dive deep into customization options like paint colors, interior finishes, and more. Mercedes’ program is called Manufaktur, and the company recently announced a new studio and other options that let customers get up close and personal with their builds.
Previously called Designo Manufaktur, the Mercedes program we know today started in 2015. The automaker’s new studio will be located inside its main complex in Sindelfingen, Germany. Space will be split into four areas: logistics, vehicle prep, a customer area, and matrix production. Buyers will be able to see and touch parts of the vehicle production process as the Manufaktur team builds their creations.
The Manufaktur program offers a ton of personalization options, including changing the seat shape. Mercedes will widen or narrow the seat bottom and can lengthen the seat by up to two inches. S-Class buyers can choose from 80 exclusive colors, and Mercedes said it would expand the options to AMG cars.
While the Manufaktur options aren’t cheap, Mercedes has employed partial automation in the factory to increase efficiency and output. It can build up to 20 vehicles for the program each day and said that Manufaktur accounted for around 30 percent of its higher-end vehicles through the first half of this year.
[Images: Mercedes-Benz]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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