Daimler is to build a new battery manufacturing plant in Alabama for its Mercedes-Benz subsidiary— which has confirmed it is to start making electric vehicles in the US.
Daimler said construction of the one million square-foot battery plant in Tuscaloosa— the group’s fifth such facility worldwide— is set to begin in 2018.
A spokesperson for Daimler in the US told BBB “no further information is available” when asked for details of the Alabama project including production capacity.
Tuscaloosa is currently home to Mercedes-Benz’s SUV production (pictured) for the world market.
Daimler has said previously it is investing around $1.1 billion in the production of batteries around the world, “estimating that by 2025, electric vehicles will account for between 15-25% of the total unit sales of Mercedes-Benz”.
In July 2017, Daimler said it would build a manufacturing plant for “premium e-batteries” and electric vehicles in Beijing with its Chinese joint venture partner BAIC.
In September, Daimler joined investors in Israeli start-up StoreDot to support the scaling-up of that firm’s electric vehicle fast-charge FlashBattery technology.