Mercedes-Benz will source some of its electric vehicle batteries from a new U.S. factory being built by Japanese company Envision AESC.
Details about Envision’s new U.S. factory are limited but it already operates a site in Smyrna, Tennessee where it produces batteries for the Nissan Leaf. This plant can supply 30,000 to 50,000 battery packs annually.
Securing batteries from Envision’s new factory will be key in Mercedes-Benz’s push to produce many of its electric vehicles in the U.S, including the EQE and EQS. Envision should start supplying the batteries from mid-decade.
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“Envision AESC will be a major supplier securing capacity for the next generations of our Mercedes-EQ products built in the U.S. in the years to come,” Mercedes-Benz chief technology officer Markus Schaefer said in a statement to Auto News. “This new cooperation… allows us to secure supplies, to take advantage of economies of scale and to provide our customers with superior battery technology.”
Mercedes-Benz itself is also looking to grow its footprint in the U.S. production sector, confirming that it will open a 177,000-square-foot battery assembly plant located on 270 acres near its 6 million-square-foot assembly plant 40 miles away from Birmingham, Alabama. This battery plant will employ up to 600 workers.
The German car manufacturer is also working on new battery technology that will be more energy-dense and offer faster charging. It also intends on establishing eight battery cell factories across the world, capable of producing 200 gigawatt-hours’ worth of cells by the end of the decade.
