Mercedes-Benz isn't in the habit of relying on others to get results. The 100-year-old-plus company has the expertise and resources to get where it wants to go, and it has just given us another great proof.
Mercedes-Benz has just officially opened a second plant in Alabama, this time in Bibb County. It will be dedicated to manufacturing EV batteries, and it joins the company's other plant in nearby Tuscaloosa County – which is, not coincidentally, where production of the all-electric EQE and EQS models will begin in the coming months.
The new battery plant will supply the components for these two new all-electric products, obviously, and in the process it will add 600 permanent jobs to the region. Mercedes also says that the production process of the batteries will be carbon-neutral and that the plant is expected to get all its electricity from renewable resources by 2024. Mercedes-Benz committed to achieving that goal in 2020.
Mercedes is all-in in its Alabama operations, having poured more than $ 7 billion in investments into the state since the 1990s. One of those billions has been spent on upgrades to the Tuscaloosa plant and logistics centres, and of course to building the new battery plant.
The money spent in Alabama on electrification is central to Mercedes-Benz’ strategy. The company has promised to move to EV technology by the end of the decade. To achieve this, it plans to build eight such plants around the world. The total capacity will be 200 gigawatt hours.
Mercedes-Benz wants to offer nine fully electric models (EQ series) around the world in the medium term. At the moment, the only one available in Canada is the EQS sedan. The EQS SUV is set to be unveiled on April 19.
Once again, we'll be keeping an eye on everything related to accessibility – meaning, getting the fobs of new EVs into the hands of buyers. Right now, let's just say that the situation needs to improve. For now, as we reported yesterday, demand is not being met by supply, and wait times for new EVs are currently stretching into months, even years.
