Berlin, March 16 (BNA) German car manufacturer Mercedes has inaugurated a new battery factory in the US state of Alabama, as a key part of its plans to increase production of electric cars in the United States.
Its CEO, Ola Källenius, called him a “landmark” when he opened the plant next door to an existing car factory. The two plants will produce EQS and EQE models for the company’s SUVs.
The focus on electric cars is part of the companies’ offensive to bring eight all-electric vehicles to market, produced in seven different locations. The facilities in Alabama have long been essential to Mercedes’ global export network, German news agency dpa reports.
“We are proud to create new and future jobs building our all-electric ‘Made in the USA’ SUV at a plant that has been a well-established part of our production family for 25 years,” Kallenius said.
The new plant is a partner project with battery specialist Envision AESC to create 600 jobs and will collect battery cells from delivered packages.
The plan is to get the plant more involved in a full production process, and to open several plants with the goal of creating a total production capacity of 200 GWh by the end of the decade worldwide.
ZHB