AUTOS

Mercedes Mulls Opening New U.S. Plant: Mercedes-Benz said it is considering opening a full-scale production plant in the United States for a new line of all-terrain vehicles aimed at the American market. A spokesman said the luxury car maker is looking at the possibility of making the vehicle outside Germany, adding that the United States appears promising, but he could not say when a final decision might be made. Mercedes has a U.S. truck subsidiary, Portland, Ore.-based Freightliner Corp., which has four U.S. plants. Mercedes’ fellow German rival, BMW--known formally as Bayerische Motoren Werke--broke ground last year on a new car plant near Spartanburg, S.C.