Daimler is planning to invest $1 billion into electric car production in its Alabama plant, the company said Thursday in a statement.
Daimler will try to take on Tesla’s Model X by making Daimler the first European company to assemble electric SUV in the U.S. as it is starting to assemble electric sport utility vehicles in its facility in Alabama.
Daimler, the parent company of luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz, announced plans to invest $1 billion to start production of plug-in autos in the U.S.
The Stuttgart-based company will use the sum to expand the 20-year-old Vance facility, in Alabama, where Mercedes already makes SUVs. More »
The largest battery factory in Europe is being built by Daimler.
Daimler, one of the few major automakers developing all-electric vehicles, begins construction on a $562 million lithium-ion battery factory in Germany, officials unveiled a few days ago. The German automaker is planning to spend $11 billion on 10 new electric models that would be brought to the market by 2022.
Mercedes-Benz manufacturer Daimler is currently producing its own battery packs through its ACCUmotive subsidiary. A few months ago, they announced an important multi-million investment in a new battery plant in Kamenz, Germany, which will assemble lithium-ion battery packs for Mercedes and Maybach vehicles, as well as energy storage batteries.
The new production facility will be environmentally conscious. Mercedes says that the factory will be carbon-dioxide neutral. The facilities will be supplied with energy from a combined heat and power plant and solar power – a photovoltaic plant in combination with stationary battery storage units. By the end of 2020, the factory will have a total of over 1,000 employees and thus today’s number will be more than doubled.
The new production facility will stretch across 262,000 feet. It is scheduled to go into operation in mid-2018- just in time for Mercedes’ first all-electric vehicle- the new ‘EQ’ SUV. In addition, the German automaker has several other electric vehicle programs, like its all-electric Urban eTruck. Daimler is also currently building 1,500 all-electric Mercedes-Benz vans for Germany’s largest independent logistic firm, Hermes.
Last week, Daimler subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Energy has entered into a partnership with Vivint Solar to Solar to sell residential storage batteries along with solar panels in California.
Major battery factories are currently under construction in other European countries: Poland, Hungary, and Sweden. However, some of these factories are actually being built by Asian giants planning to move into Europe. There are also eight battery factories under construction in China.
Mercedes unveiled the first official details about the new Maybach Pullman S600 limousine only a few days ago. The ultra-long-wheelbase version of the Mercedes-Benz will take the S-Class range to a whole new level of luxury.
With an impressive length of 255.9 inches, the Pullman gains an extra 3.5 feet over the Mercedes- Benz S class and it’s also four inches taller. The wheelbase stretches 14.5 feet and the Pullman boasts a rear compartment resembling a “club lounge”, according to the producer. More »
The Mercedes F015 Luxury in Motion, a revolutionary concept of autonomous vehicles, made its debut on Monday night and became the star of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. With the luxury sedan F015, the leading German auto manufacturer shows how luxury self-driving cars might look and feel after 2030, only 15 years in the future. More »
The truck of the future, a highly automated Mercedes-Benz, had its premiere on Tuesday. Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, responsible for Daimler Trucks and Buses and a member of Daimler’s Board of Management, unveiled details of their Future Truck 2025.
There was a remarkable demonstration of the innovative technology on the A14 autobahn near the city of Magdeburg in completely realistic driving situations. Later, a conference was held in the presence of several hundred journalists, investors, government officials and capital-market analysts. More »