Mercedes has announced that €2 billion will be invested into four of its European manufacturing facilities to ready them for EV production, many examples of which will be built atop the new Mercedes-Benz Electric Architecture.
The two-billion-euro expenditure – just shy of $2.7 billion – will prioritize the brand’s Sindelfingen, Rastatt and Bremen facilities in Germany and its Kecskemét plant in Hungary in a move Mercedes states will not only create more job opportunities but also marks “a new phase of introducing next-generation electric platforms.”
The Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen started production of the all-electric EQE a few months ago. Already in May 2019, the EQC (combined power consumption: 21.5 kWh/100 km; CO₂ emissions combined: 0 g/km) was integrated into ongoing series production at the Mercedes-Benz plant in northern Germany.
“Following the successful launches of Mercedes-EQ models in recent months, we are taking the next step: to outline the plan for our future production setup,” Mercedes board member Jörg Burzer adds. “Together with the employee representatives, we are consistently implementing the Mercedes-Benz strategy towards ‘electric only.’
“The global Mercedes Benz production network is sustainable, digital and flexible. We are ready for the rapid scaling of electric vehicle volumes, not least thanks to our highly qualified and motivated team worldwide. With the new production setup we are further increasing our flexibility and efficiency and securing the future of our locations.”
Mercedes further states that its portfolio from 2025 onwards will focus on ‘Top End Luxury,’ ‘Core Luxury’ and ‘Entry Luxury’ models. Production of the EQS limousine – ‘Top End Luxury’ will continue at Sindelfingen, Mercedes’ announcement that “models based on the AMG.EA platform (AMG Electric Architecture)” arriving in 2025 further suggesting that a dynamic alter-ego to the EQS may already be in the works.
The EQE sedan and EQC crossover meanwhile – ‘Core Luxury’ – will continue to be built at Bremen, with “a model based on the MB.EA platform” also set to be integrated from the middle of the decade. Similarly, production of the EQA hatchback has already begun at Rastatt, with “new models based on the MMA platform” – Mercedes Modular Architecture, and thus either ICE and/or hybrid vehicles – set to be introduced from 2024. Amid rumours that its compact A-Class and B-Class models will soon be axed, Mercedes has also confirmed that it will reduce the number of its entry level models from seven to four in order to “reposition Mercedes-Benz in this segment to meet the wishes of discerning customers.” Electric successors to the A and B-Classes, and potentially the mid-sized GLA, have thus been speculated.
New models based on the MMA and MB.EA platforms will also be introduced at Kecskemét, where the EQB is currently built. Further afield, production of the recently launched EQS and EQE SUVs is set to begin at Mercedes’ plant in Tuscaloosa, USA.
Alongside its investment into the European facilities, Mercedes has also pledged “a three-digit million sum” into the installation of photovoltaic (solar) systems, and potentially purchase agreements to the tune of one million euros towards wind turbines, which will help the German brand achieve its sustainability goal of halving its C02 emission levels by the end of the decade. By 2030, the goal is for “more than 70 per cent” of energy demand for production to be generated from renewable solar and wind sources.
