Mercedes CEO Rebuffed Lutnick’s Pitch to Move Headquarters to US

Mercedes-Benz Group AG’s chief executive officer turned down a Trump cabinet secretary’s attempt to lure the manufacturer’s headquarters to the US from Germany, where its roots date back to the invention of the automobile.

In an interview with The Pioneer, a German media outlet, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius said US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made the overture roughly a year ago, dangling tax relief and other incentives. Although Källenius declined, Mercedes later announced plans to shift production of a sport utility vehicle from Germany to its existing plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius

Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

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