The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS Sedan, a new all-electric luxury flagship, arrives in less than one month to take EVs into new territory. This new EQS will spawn an SUV variant, plus more affordable models like the upcoming EQE sedan. To prepare for this all-electric product onslaught, Mercedes just started producing high-performance batteries for the EQS at its Stuttgart-Hedelfingen plant in Germany and has cleverly positioned its battery production line next to existing transmission production, making the ramp-up process more seamless.

These batteries will provide the EQS with over 700 kilometers (434 miles) of range, based on the WLTP testing cycle.

"Our next all-electric model - the luxury sedan EQS - built on a dedicated electric platform is already in the starting blocks. The start of production of its high-performance battery systems in our plant in Stuttgart-Hedelfingen is, therefore, an important milestone", says Markus Schafer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, and Mercedes-Benz Cars COO. "As part of the transformation of our company and our products, we are significantly expanding our battery competencies across the entire value chain. Thereby we continue to make efforts to help the next generation of batteries achieve a breakthrough even faster."

In addition to battery production, Mercedes hones its battery expertise at the Mercedes-Benz Drive Systems Campus in Unterturkheim, Germany. Here the company will conduct research and development on cell technologies, including a three-digit million investment for this goal.

The batteries made in Stuttgart-Hedelfingen won't just go into the EQS; they will find use in the EQE as well and are not among the Mercedes batteries previously referred to as "catastrophic" in quality. Mercedes plans to expand its global EV share to around 13% by introducing several new EQ-branded products. Before the end of 2022, Mercedes will reveal five new EV models, including the EQB, EQE, EQS, EQE SUV, and EQS SUV. These models will be sold alongside refreshed plug-in hybrids, such as the C-Class and S-Class, each offering around 100 kilometers (62 miles) of electric range.