Mercedes-Benz To Spend $1 Billion On New EV Manufacturing Plants

Mercedes-Benz has been at the forefront of the EV revolution for a while and has now selected which of its plants will be responsible for all the parts required to make electric vehicles.

Mercedes announced that it is "investing a mid-single-digit billion euro amount in its European production locations." According to Reuters, the automaker will spend $1.06 billion as part of its plan to upgrade its global network of production facilities. The various plants will be ready to produce these new products by 2024. Merc's massive operations in the USA were not mentioned, but more on those later.

The most important part is battery assembly, which battery plants in Kamenz and Bruhl in Germany will handle. Mercedes' Tech Center in Beijing will likely bear the brunt of battery building, as the Germans sell more cars in China than anywhere else. A fourth battery plant in Koelleda (Germany) will be added as soon as it gets the go-ahead from the local government.

Untertuerkheim and Beijing will also be responsible for electric drive units, joined by the Sebes plant in Romania. Untertuerkheim and Hamburg will assemble electric axles and several other EV-related components. "There is no site that is not included," said production chief Joerg Burzer.

After reaching an agreement with its employee representatives, Mercedes-Benz decided on new homes for the various segments it competes in. Sindelfingen (Germany) will remain the home of high-end products. It currently produces the E-Class, S-Class, Mercedes-Maybach, and Mercedes-AMG GT four-door. From 2024, it will be the home of high-end cars built on the AMG.EA platform. Examples include the Mercedes-AMG EQS and the upcoming electric Maybach.

Merc's electric G-Class will ride on an adapted version of the current G-Class platform, and production will likely continue in Graz (Austria).