Daimler invests €500 million in new battery factory in Germany

Daimler is expanding its activities in the area of electromobility and invests around EUR 500 million in the construction of a new battery factory. Which will naturally lead to an expansion of the production capacities for lithium-ion batteries of Deutsche Accumotive located in the Saxon city of Kamenz. The new factory will produce batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles of the brands Mercedes-Benz and smart. As a first step, the Daimler subsidiary has purchased about 20 hectares of land adjacent to the existing battery factory. "To get closer to fully electric driving, we keep investing big in the key component of emission-free vehicles: powerful batteries. We are now devoting another EUR 500 million to build a second battery factory in Germany. This underlines our commitment to the consistent expansion of electromobility", said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. With the growing electrification of the automobile, the demand for lithium-ion batteries is also rising steadily. Through its entry into the new business field with stationary battery storage for private and industrial applications, Deutsche Accumotive will tap into additional growth opportunities. "With the purchase of the new land, our production area at the site will be tripled. The previous 20'000 square meters will be stocked up by an additional 40'000 square meters of production space. We will expand the production capacity consistently in the coming years", said Harald Kröger, Head of Development Electrics/Electronics and e-Drive Mercedes-Benz Cars. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new factory is planned for fall 2016 and production is planned to start operations in summer 2017.