Daimler to Shift Sprinter Van Assembly to South Carolina

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aimlerChrysler AG plans to open a new plant in South Carolina as it shifts where it assembles its Sprinter vans in the United States, the Associated Press reported Monday.

The North Charleston, S.C., plant will initially employ 200 to 300 workers, and DaimlerChrysler hopes to expand to as many as 1,800 employees by 2010, several state newspapers reported yesterday.

The Sprinter is a diesel-powered cargo/passenger van, built by Mercedes in Germany and then shipped in parts and reassembled. It is sold by the company’s Dodge division.

The plant will be a scaled-down version of a 3,300-worker Sprinter van plant that DaimlerChrysler announced three years ago, AP said, citing newspaper reports.

DaimlerChrysler is expected to spend $30 million to $40 million to launch the plant, AP reported.

Daimler is the parent of U.S.-based Freightliner LLC, which includes Freightliner Trucks, Sterling Trucks, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses.