Auto plants with a century-old history are rare in Europe. Most of them are in Germany, and they have several million cars that have rolled off the assembly lines over a century.

Mercedes-Benz is celebrating today production of its 22 millionth car at its plant in Sindelfingen, southern Germany. This is a red Mercedes EQS 580 4Matic that rolled off the assembly line earlier this week.

A particularly plastic plant

This factory opened its doors in 1919 before becoming a landmark for the production of top models of the star manufacturer. At the factory in Sindelfingen, Mercedes produces its most luxurious cars.

Among them is the S-Class, as well as its exclusive Mercedes-Maybach version. The E-Class, GLC, CLS and other 4-door Mercedes-AMG GTs are assembled at the same plant. The manufacturer pays attention to this his factory is particularly flexibleas it can accommodate the production of several models equipped with different technologies: thermal, battery hybrid and electric.

“I would like to congratulate my colleagues at the Sindelfingen plant on this impressive anniversary and 22 million cars produced. Flexible, digital, efficient and sustainable: Sindelfingen is and remains our center of excellence for our luxury cars in the global production network. Sindelfingen has an impressive history, but is ideally positioned for the future: the leading factory in the luxury segment will produce models on the AMG.EA electric platform from 2025.”comments Jörg Burzer, head of production and supply chain management at Mercedes.

The base has an aircraft factory

The factory in Sindelfingen was founded in 1915 for the production of aircraft, but it was not until 1919 that the production of cars began at this location. The first model produced on these lines was the Mercedes-Knight 16/45.

Large-scale production began in the 1920s and 1930s, and in 1966 Sindelfingen reached record capacity. This year twice as many cars were produced in one year than in the entire period from 1946 to 1952.

The plant recently produced its 20 millionth car, the S-Class 500 hybrid, in 2015. Today, the plant employs about 37,000 people.