Mercedes-Benz opened a Battery Factory in Alabama to Supply American Production of electric SUVs

• Both the assembly facility and the battery plant are located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

• Mercedes will build the EQS SUV and the EQE SUV at this factory

• A modular architecture will allow the factory to keep producing its current gasoline powered models

Mercedes-Benz announced the opening of a new battery factory in the United States in order to supply production of electric SUVs in Alabama.

This factory is completed a few months before the first EQS SUV and EQE SUV roll off the line at the Tuscaloosa plant, which has made close to four million vehicles since it opened in 1997.

The modular assembly process will allow the automaker to add the two electric models to its current production of gasoline powered vehicles, which consists of the GLE, GLE Coupe, GLS and the Mercedes-Maybach GLS. Since close to two thirds of the annual production is exported, Mercedes is one of the largest exporters of vehicles from the United States.

The new battery plant adds around 600 jobs dedicated to make the lithium-ion battery packs that will power the new models. These units will have a cobalt content that is ten percent lower than usual, which will make them more sustainable. In addition, the entire production process is said to be carbon neutral.

This announcement is part of a plan for Mercedes-Benz to have battery production facilities on three continents. The goal is for the company to have a capacity of 200-Gigawatt hour by the end of the decade, which will allow Mercedes to become entirely electric by 2030 in markets where conditions allow it.

Local production is becoming increasingly important since it makes it easier to avoid shortages caused by the pandemic and the war in Europe due to the different suppliers used in each part of the world.