Daimler is to invest €100m ($125m) in its lithium-ion battery system manufacturing subsidiary Deutsche ACCUmotive over the next years.
The subsidiary will produce lithium-ion batteries for new electric versions of Daimler’s Smart cars in 2016 and new Mercedes Benz hybrid models. An expansion of the subsidiary’s manufacturing facility in Kamenz, Germany, is currently under construction and is set to be completed mid-2015, increasing the production space to 20,000 sq. m.
The German carmaker sees a continuous growth in the demand for the subsidiary’s batteries.
“The development and production of our lithium-ion batteries is competitive in every respect. We are in the black at Deutsche ACCUmotive,” said Frank Blome, managing director of Deutsche ACCUmotive.
The subsidiary will also start to produce batteries for industrial and stationary storage. “We have already concluded the first customer contracts. With our systems we can make an important contribution to the energy turnaround,” added Blome.
Currently, Deutsche ACCUmotive supplies lithium-ion batteries for the Smart Fortwo electric model and the hybrid variants of the S-, E- and C-Class of Mercedes-Benz.
The news comes after Daimler announced in November that the OEM will cease the production of lithium-ion battery cells at its subsidiary Li-Tec because battery cell production solely for electric vehicles is not economic.