Daimler brings its EV plans to the table with €20 billion battery cell order

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In a statement released today, the car and battery manufacturer says it has invested €20 billion in the purchase of battery cells, as part of its CASE – connected, autonomous, shared & services and electric – corporate strategy.

Without disclosing specifics, Daimler says it buys the cells on the world market to ensure “the best possible technology”, while it focuses on its “core competence” of battery assembly.

Overall, the manufacturer says it is investing more than €1 billion in the creation of a global battery network within the production network of its Mercedes-Benz Cars, which will eventually comprise eight factories on three continents.

In Saxony, Germany, its Kamenz factory in is already said to be in series production, while a second factory will begin there at the beginning of 2019. Meanwhile, another two factories will be built in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, and one at the company’s Sindelfingen site.

A further factory will be located in each of the following: Beijing, China; Bangkok, Thailand; and Tuscaloosa, the United States.

“The local production of batteries is an important success factor in Mercedes-Benz Cars’ electric offensive and is decisive for meeting the global demand for electric vehicles flexibly and efficiently,” said Daimler in a statement released today.

Overall, it aims to electrify its entire Mercedes portfolio by 2022, with 130 electric cars, and electric vans, buses and trucks. It says it is investing €10 billion in this expansion.

“By 2025, sales of battery-electric vehicles are to increase to 15-25 percent of total unit sales – depending on individual customer preferences and the development of the public infrastructure,” continues the statement.

Last week, a number of significant EV manufacturing and investment plans in China, Germany and North America were made by major automobile makers VW, Tesla and BYD, thus underpinning predictions that EV car sales are set to skyrocket in the coming decades.

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