Mercedes pumps 1b euros into US e-car plant

AFP, FRANKFURT AM MAIN: German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz said Thursday it would invest 1 billion euros in an Alabama factory as it prepares for electric vehicle production in the United States. “We are significantly growing our manufacturing footprint here in Alabama... We will be able to quickly ramp up US production of EQ models,” the carmaker’s battery-electric range, Mercedes executive Markus Schaefer said in a statement.

Mercedes’ Tuscaloosa plant, in operation since 1997, employs around 3,700 out of the carmaker’s 22,000 US employees, and produced some 310,000 vehicles last year, the company said.

It was already slated to build next-generation plug-in hybrid SUVs and now the move into all-electric cars will complete the picture.

All automakers have been under political pressure to import fewer cars into the US and build more within the country.

That country's luxury makers have seen continued erosion in their medium and large sedan market as the Tesla Model S has captured more than 100,000 of their customers globally.

Diesel engines, once seen as the way for the industry to reduce carbon emissions, are under attack on numerous fronts, from the continuing Volkswagen diesel emission scandal through bans in numerous cities to tougher real-world emission testing where they come off badly.

In addition, battery prices have fallen faster than predicted and the immense challenge of bringing not only hydrogen vehicles but an entirely new fueling system to market are becoming apparent.

The first of Daimler's long-range electric vehicles, the Mercedes-Benz EQC crossover utility, won't go on sale until 2019. The company had previously committed to build that vehicle and its battery pack in Germany, but will offer other SUV variants on its electric-car architecture later on.

In its statement, the company said production of a Mercedes-Benz EQ "electric SUV' will begin "early next decade," but construction of an adjacent battery plant would start next year.

That battery assembly facility will produce packs not only for the electric SUV to be built in Alabama but also for other vehicles.

Initially slow on the uptake in electric cars, following two decades of research into hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, Daimler has racheted up the pace and scope of its EV plans over the last two years.

The fresh expansion, expected to add around 600 jobs and a battery production plant to the site, comes on the heels of a $1.3-billion (1.0-billion-euro) investment in 2015.

Production of all-electric models is expected to start in the early 2020s, Mercedes said. Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler vowed this month to offer all-electric or hybrid versions of all vehicles sold under the three-pointed star brand by 2022. The company now plans to launch four different vehicles in its EQ series of dedicated battery-electric vehicles by 2022.

German carmakers are scrambling ahead with electric mobility as a diesel emissions scandal drags on, hoping to curry favour with governments and regulators and prevent their internal combustion-powered models being banned from roads.

 

Mercedes pumps 1b euros into US e-car plant

AFP, FRANKFURT AM MAIN: German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz said Thursday it would invest 1 billion euros in an Alabama factory as it prepares for electric vehicle production in the United States. We are significantly growing our manufacturing footprint here in Alabama... We will be able to quickly ramp up US production of EQ models, the carmakers battery-electric range, Mercedes executive Markus Schaefer said in a statement. Mercedes Tuscaloosa plant, in operation since 1997, employs around 3,700 out of the carmakers 22,000 US employees, and produced some 310,000 vehicles last year, the company said. It was already slated to build next-generation plug-in hybrid SUVs and now the move into all-electric cars will complete the picture. All automakers have been under political pressure to import fewer cars into the US and build more within the country. That countrys luxury makers have seen continued erosion in their medium and large sedan market as the Tesla Model S has captured more than 100,000 of their customers globally. Diesel engines, once seen as the way for the industry to reduce carbon emissions, are under attack on numerous fronts, from the continuing Volkswagen diesel emission scandal through bans in numerous cities to tougher real-world emission testing where they come off badly. In addition, battery prices have fallen faster than predicted and the immense challenge of bringing not only hydrogen vehicles but an entirely new fueling system to market are becoming apparent. The first of Daimlers long-range electric vehicles, the Mercedes-Benz EQC crossover utility, wont go on sale until 2019. The company had previously committed to build that vehicle and its battery pack in Germany, but will offer other SUV variants on its electric-car architecture later on. In its statement, the company said production of a Mercedes-Benz EQ electric SUV will begin early next decade, but construction of an adjacent battery plant would start next year. That battery assembly facility will produce packs not only for the electric SUV to be built in Alabama but also for other vehicles. Initially slow on the uptake in electric cars, following two decades of research into hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, Daimler has racheted up the pace and scope of its EV plans over the last two years. The fresh expansion, expected to add around 600 jobs and a battery production plant to the site, comes on the heels of a $1.3-billion (1.0-billion-euro) investment in 2015. Production of all-electric models is expected to start in the early 2020s, Mercedes said. Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler vowed this month to offer all-electric or hybrid versions of all vehicles sold under the three-pointed star brand by 2022. The company now plans to launch four different vehicles in its EQ series of dedicated battery-electric vehicles by 2022. German carmakers are scrambling ahead with electric mobility as a diesel emissions scandal drags on, hoping to curry favour with governments and regulators and prevent their internal combustion-powered models being banned from roads.