The worldwide battery production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars will in future consist of six plants on three continents that react flexibly and efficiently to market demand. Mercedes-Benz Cars and its local partner TAAP will continue to intensify their cooperation and jointly invest more than 100 million euros in production in Bangkok to meet the growing demand for electric mobility in the region. The investment will flow into the expansion of the plant and into a new battery production. The investment will create a total of more than 300 additional jobs at the site. Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain:”The electrical offensive in the flexible and efficient global production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars is progressing rapidly. As part of our strategy, we are now preparing for the future of E-mobility in Thailand together with our partner TAAP. With our highly standardized and scalable battery production concept, we are in a position to start up in any region at short notice and in line with the market “.

With this strategic decision, Mercedes-Benz Cars is strengthening its presence in Southeast Asia, thus responding to the growing demand for electric mobility in the region. Together with the local partner Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant (TAAP), the German automaker will invest a total of more than 100 million euros in production in Bangkok by 2020. The investment will be channelled into an expansion of the existing automotive plant and into battery production at the site, ensuring the availability of state-of-the-art technologies for electrified vehicles and “EQ Power” plug-in hybrids from Thailand.

The electrical offensive in the flexible and efficient global production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars is progressing rapidly. Battery production in Thailand will expand our global battery production network, so that in future we will be producing batteries in six factories on three continents,”says Markus Schäfer, member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain. Thanks to a standardized production and plant concept, the battery production concept of Mercedes-Benz Cars can be scaled in such a way that various value-added stages and production concepts can be implemented flexibly and in line with the market worldwide.

By 2022, Daimler will electrify the entire Mercedes-Benz portfolio and offer customers at least one electrified alternative in all segments from compact cars to large SUVs. The company plans to offer more than 50 electrified vehicle variants. Mercedes-Benz will continue to push ahead with the development of plug-in hybrids and the introduction of 48-volt systems. The first model of the EQ series – the EQC – will go into production in Bremen in 2019. The product and technology brand EQ is an integral part of CASE, which stands for the intelligent combination of the strategic pillars Connectivity (Connected), Autonomous Driving (Autonomous), Flexible Use (Shared & Services) and Electrical Drive Systems (Electric).

Sixth battery factory of Mercedes-Benz Cars

Battery production in Bangkok will be part of Mercedes-Benz Cars’ worldwide battery production network for local demand and export. In total, Daimler invests more than one billion euros in the global battery production network, which includes production facilities in Germany, the USA and China. Similar to the automotive industry, the battery production network will react flexibly and efficiently to market demand. This strategy ensures the continuous availability of modern battery technology via local production centers and puts Mercedes-Benz in a competitive position for the electric offensive. Local production of batteries in Thailand is scheduled to begin in 2019.