BERLIN, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Daimler has begun construction of a new battery factory near its main site Untertuerkheim in the city of Stuttgart, the German car manufacturer announced on Friday.
Daimler is expecting production of high-efficiency traction batteries by the company's Mercedes-Benz Cars subsidiary to commence by the end of the decade.
The new carbon-neutral battery factory at the Bruehl sub-plant will be the first of its kind in the Neckar Valley, according to Daimler.
"The battery factory at the Bruehl sub-plant stands for our promise to make both our cars as well as their production even greener. In future, we will assemble the heart of the electric car - the battery - here ourselves," said Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG.
Daimler noted that local battery production was a "critical success factor and a crucial component when it comes to meeting the worldwide demand for electric vehicles".
Mercedes-Benz Cars announced it would invest more than one billion euros (1.12 billion U.S. dollars) in a global battery production network within the company's worldwide production network currently comprised of nine factories at seven locations on three continents.
Since 2012, Daimler subsidiary Accumotive has been making batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles in the German city of Kamenz and is currently building a second battery factor there.
The second factory in Kamenz will begin large-scale production of traction batteries in 2019. Daimler is also building three battery factories in the Greater Stuttgart region.
In China, Daimler and joint-venture partner BAIC are currently jointly building a battery factory at the existing location in the Yizhuang Industrial Park in Beijing. Additional battery factories are being constructed in Poland, Thailand and the United States.
The Mercedes-Benz Untertuerkheim plant in Germany has been operating for more than 115 years. It is the Daimler Group headquarters, and the location of its research and development function.
The Mercedes-Benz Untertuerkheim plant opened a project and technical center in Autumn 2018 to build up know-how for the next generation of electronic powertrains. Prototypes have been built and, since the beginning of 2019, the plant has been responsible for the battery pilot factory.
