Mercedes-Benz has made an announcement that it will set up electric vehicle production in the US. The company will produce EQ-branded SUV at its Tuscaloosa plant in Alabama. The investment announcement made during the plant’s 20th-anniversary celebration. In total, Mercedes-Benz will invest $1 billion in the expansion of its industrial footprint in the region, most of which is slated for the electric initiative. It is expected that once completed these investments will create more than 600 additional jobs.
EQ is the company’s product brand for electric mobility. The brand encompasses all key aspects of customer-focused electric mobility and aims to offer an ecosystem of products, services, technologies, and innovations. The spectrum ranges from electric vehicles to wallboxes and charging services to home energy storage units. The first EQ series model, EQC, will go into production in 2019 in Bremen, Germany.
In addition, a battery plant is also being planned to be built near the existing passenger-car plant ensuring availability of cutting-edge technology for future generations of Mercedes-Benz vehicles built in the U.S. With production locations for EVs and batteries in Europe, China and, now, the U.S., the company’s global network is ready for the era of electric vehicles.
The logistics activities in the U.S. will also be expanded with a new Global Logistics Center and a new after-sales North American hub, exporting car-kits to global assembly plants and spare parts from the U.S. and North America to worldwide markets.
The company aims to electrify its entire portfolio by 2022, offering customers at least one electrified alternative in all segments from smart to large SUVs. The company is working on strategy named CASE, which stands for the intelligent combination of the strategic pillars of connectivity (Connected), autonomous driving (Autonomous), flexible use (Shared & Services) and electric drive systems (Electric).