KECSKEMET, Hungary: German luxury car maker Mercedes Benz has opened a new manufacturing plant in Hungary wher it will build its B-Class compact.

The plant built at a cost of $1.06 billion in the central Hungarian city of Kecskemet, about 100 kilometres southeast of Budapest, the capital, will employ 3,000 people and create a further 10,000 jobs for suppliers.

The plant, expected to produce 100,000 cars a year, is one of the largest-ever direct investments in Hungary and a welcome bright spot amid an otherwise difficult economic situation.