Ooh, these seats are nice.
I had been to the U.S. a lot.
What did you think about this place?
But never to Alabama, so I didn't know what to expect.
There are grip bars here for a reason.
That's good.
Oh, yeah! Serious off-roading.
Hi, I am here in Tuscaloosa, about to pick up someone who used to live here and now runs Mercedes. Tuscaloosa is a huge part of Mercedes' story in the U.S. But it's also a big part of his. So, I asked him to take me on a little tour in this new beauty. Let's go, I am excited.
Ola, it's great to see you!
Sarah, good to see you again. Welcome to Alabama.
I understand Tuscaloosa is a city with a lot of history for you personally. What does it mean to you to be back here?
It is indeed. This is the home of the Mercedes' larger SUVs. But it has also been my home. Early in my career, I started out here. And I also started my family here. My girlfriend at the time, then wife, we came here. Our first two children were born here. It very much feels like home to be back here today.
Well, I am excited to be here with you. We are here to talk about this lovely vehicle. Does anything catch your eye straight away? What's your favourite part?
This is probably one of the biggest upgrades that we have ever done on this new GLS or the sibling car, the GLE. It has got a new heart. The powertrain lineup is completely new from A to Z. High-tech electrified combustion engines, also with plug-in hybrid models. But it also has a new brain: MB.OS, the Mercedes-Benz Operating System. The total electronic architecture of this car is new. Everything is updateable over-the-air. You now have an intelligent machine on wheels. And of course, it looks great.
It does look great. You should take me for a little drive.
This is your town, so you drive.
Let's do it.
So, where are we going now?
We are going into the plant. As you can see, it is a vast operation that we have put up here over the last 30 years. We started with a plant that could make about 60,000 vehicles. At the centre of this site. Now, we can produce 300,000 vehicles.
When we set up here in the mid-90s, we were the first automotive OEM to come to Alabama. Three decades later, five OEMs are in Alabama and hundreds of suppliers. It is one of the biggest automotive states in the U.S.
You started the trend. So, you are a young Swedish guy, you come to Alabama. Just starting out. What did you think about this place?
I had been to the U.S. a lot. But never to Alabama, so I didn't know what to expect. You know, we built up the plant. We started production. We got into volume production. All of those things happened. We left back for Germany in 1999, after almost five years here. 10 years later, my boss at the time said: 'Ola, I have got a new job for you. We send you back to AL, you are going to run that operation.' That was like a dream come true.
Yes, you come back to the crime scene, where you started your career.
And I had the privilege of being the CEO of this company, which is called Mercedes-Benz U.S. International.
Tell me a little bit about this car. It feels to me like I am sitting on a really nice sofa in my living room.
Here, we are in the flagship, the GLS. It's like the S-Class of SUVs. That kind of 'S-Classy' feeling. It's almost like you feel that you own the road.
You feel safe. You are in command of things. Look at the space in here.
Yes, it's a seven-seater. Or it's a five-seater with a lot of luggage space in the back. If you have dogs, if you have hobbies, fold those seats, put a couple of mountain bikes or your surfboard in here.
Your skis, whatever. So, if you live an active lifestyle, a little bit of adventure is part of your life, this is the car you are looking for.
Now, I hear we are going to have a little adventure later in this car. Because it's not just a car for driving around surfboards.
You can take this thing off-road.
Oh, yeah! Serious off-roading.
Okay. We are entering the off-road track here. We are starting soft, and we are going to go a little bit harder as we go along.
I am excited. Walk me through what happens when this rolls off the production plant. Do you bring the car here to test it?
Some cars we test, just to make sure. You would not drive every single car on a track like this. We have a test track behind, where we drive to make sure everything is perfect. Here you can see, now we are just going over a railway or something. An old railway.
These are some pretty heavy rocks here. And here we have put in rollers to simulate what happens if you slip.
Sometimes going downhill is worse than going up.
Yes, you were telling me. But do you feel safe?
I do feel safe. And also very physically comfortable.
You could almost drink a cup of scorching hot tea as we go through this.
