On to 200 GWh per year
Mercedes-Benz is further securing its European battery deliveries through a new deal with Chinese battery manufacturer CATL. The German car manufacturer will become the first and largest customer of CATL’s new battery factory in Hungary. It is not yet known when Mercedes-Benz will receive the first Sino-Hungarian batteries.
According to Mercedes-Benz, CATL batteries are intended for ‘the next generation of EVs’. It will take some time before the €7.34 billion factory is ready, construction will start this year. The Hungarian batteries must in any case be produced CO2-neutrally and are partly intended for electric Mercedes that roll off the production line in Stuttgart and Hungary. Mercedes-Benz is not the only manufacturer for which CATL will be producing batteries in Hungary. BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen are also customers of the factory. However, Mercedes-Benz will become the first and largest customer. With a production capacity of 100 GWh per year, however, there is enough space to provide every car brand with a good portion of batteries.
In total, Mercedes-Benz aims to achieve a production capacity of 200 GWh of batteries per year by the end of this decade, spread over eight battery factories worldwide. The Hungarian factory of CATL is one of them, together with Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz is also working in the joint venture Automotive Cells Company on the construction of a further three battery factories in France, Germany and Italy. Together, these must account for a production capacity of at least 120 GWh in 2030.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl