As of: March 6, 2024, 7:18 p.m
By: Laura May
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Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) visits Mercedes-Benz in Sindelfingen.
© Christoph Schmidt/dpa
Olaf Scholz visited the Mercedes-Benz test track in Sindelfingen.
He didn't want to sit in the passenger seat of the newest car.
Sindelfingen – Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) visited Baden-Württemberg for the second time in a week.
In addition to the vacuum technology company Schmalz in the northern Black Forest, he also visited a school and the Mercedes-Benz factory in Sindelfingen, south of Stuttgart, on Monday.
As expected, Scholz reiterated the importance of the automotive industry for Germany.
“Germany is a country in which the economy depends very much on our success in building automobiles,” the
German Press Agency (dpa)
quoted the Chancellor as saying.
Mercedes-Benz is an example of the successful export and high-quality production of cars from Germany and is closely linked to the history of the country.
Chancellor Scholz wants to drive the Mercedes himself
Following discussions and a works meeting, Scholz accepted the invitation of works council boss Ergun Lümali to the Mercedes-Benz test track to try out the new Mercedes EQE SUV - and demonstrated his enjoyment of the vehicle.
According to a report by
Bild,
Mercedes engineer Katharina Kupferschmid was present as a dedicated driver.
But Scholz said: “I want to drive myself.”
So Kupferschmid took the passenger seat, Mercedes boss Ola Källenius and works council boss Ergun Lümali sat in the back seat.
Chancellor Scholz then drove the SUV at 110 kilometers per hour over the 2.8 kilometer long test track and, according to those present, clearly had fun.
“He drives very well.
And above all, he had a lot of fun doing it,” said Kupferschmid afterwards.
For Mercedes-Benz boss Källenius, the trip to the Chancellor is a “story for the grandchildren”
Scholz's driving pleasure also reached Mercedes boss Källenius in the back seat.
Otherwise the Chancellor would always be driven around, so driving himself is understandably fun, said the Benz boss to
Bild
.
And for him the trip was also unforgettable.
“Being driven by the Chancellor is a story for the grandchildren.”
At the end of the Chancellor's visit to Mercedes-Benz, a factory tour was on the agenda.
Upper- and luxury-class vehicles – such as the S-Class, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class and the EQS – are manufactured in Sindelfingen.
A total of 35,000 employees worked at the site, 21,500 of whom worked in production.
Last year, around 220,000 cars were produced in Sindelfingen, as Mercedes-Benz announced to the
dpa
.
(Laura May)