Mercedes’ electrification plan is very ambitious. To support the production of the future electric models of the German automaker serves an adequate supply of accumulators. On this issue it is very interesting the news that Mercedes began the production of batteries at the Bibb County site which is very close to the Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant where both the EQS SUV and the EQE SUV. About three and a half years after the start of construction of the plant and a few months before the start of electric vehicle production in Tuscaloosa, this new battery factory went into operation.
Therefore, this new site will be very important for the German brand’s strategy as it will produce the batteries that will then be used in its new electric SUVs. The new accumulator factory highlights the importance that the American market has for the manufacturer. The Alabama site is targeted at become the hub for manufacturing and exporting of its premium electric SUVs.
Out of a total of $ 7 billion invested in Alabama by Mercedes over time, $ 1 billion was invested in the battery plant, logistics centers and to upgrade the Tuscaloosa production line to prepare it for the arrival of the new ones. electric models.
The Bibb County facility will manufacture the batteries within a 300-meter-long production line with more than 70 workstations. The plant uses a fully digitized manufacturing process. Mercedes also wanted highlight the sustainability of production activities of the factory. From 2024, once the projects for the photovoltaic systems are approved, all the energy needed for the production site will come from renewable sources.
This new plant will also be very important for the local economy as it will create 600 new jobs.
Mercedes aims to become a fully electric brand by the end of the decade, wherever market conditions allow. To achieve its goal, the company, together with partners, plans to build eight battery cell factories around the world with a capacity of production of 200 GWh always by the end of the decade. As part of this strategy, the brand has announced that Envision AESC will supply battery modules to the Tuscaloosa site from a new facility in the United States. Supplies will start from the middle of the decade.
