Daimler is expanding its “electric offensive”: The car maker has concluded supply contracts for battery cells by 2030. Even before, a large part of the fleet should be powered by electricity.
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche introduces the E-car EQC (archive image)
Tuesday, 11.12.2018
16:17
The automobile company Daimler has announced that it will spend more than 20 billion euros on battery cells in the coming years. Contracts were concluded with suppliers who ensured the supply of their own production by 2030, the company said.
Although Daimler builds the batteries itself, it buys the cells – the essential component – from external suppliers. The suppliers already produce battery cells in Asia and Europe and continue to expand according to the Group in Europe and additionally in the United States,
By 2025, 15 to 25 percent of vehicles sold should be battery-powered, said Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, The car manufacturer wants to spend ten billion euros in development and production of the electricAt Mercedes Benz stuck. The first purely electric vehicle from it is to come 2019 on the market.
Daimler plans seven new battery plants
In addition, Daimler wants to build a production network for e-car batteries: A battery plant in the Saxon Kamenz is already in operation, seven more will follow. That costs the group according to own data another billion euro. Daimler also needs the battery cells for e-buses and trucks. The delivery contracts were designed so that Daimler could have the latest cell technology, it was said.
Volkswagen Already last year, it announced that it would spend a total of around 50 billion euros on battery cells in the coming years. Last announced VW, 2019 with the production of an electric car in Zwickau want to start. BMW alone buys cells for four billion euros from the Chinese manufacturer CATL – a part of which should come from a new cell factory in Thuringia.
In addition to CATL, the Asian manufacturers LG Chem, Samsung SDI, SK Innovation and Panasonic are leaders in e-car batteries. The EU Commission has repeatedly called on carmakers and suppliers to to build large factories for electric car batteries in Europe, Otherwise, “leading manufacturers like Mercedes could not be sure that they always have access to the latest technology,” said State Secretary Matthias Machnig in February. The commission wants the development of powerful battery cells promote almost 200 million euros over the next two years.