Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will invest billions of dollars in modernizing its production facilities in China, Germany, and Hungary. The move comes as the German automaker prepares to transition to electric vehicles and reduce emissions in line with the European Union’s goal of halving CO2 emissions per passenger car over their life cycle by the end of this decade compared to 2020.
According to a report by magazine Automobilwoche, Mercedes-Benz will invest a “three-digit million amount per plant for the run-up” to the transition to electric vehicles. The investments will be made at the plants in Beijing, Rastatt in Germany, and Kecskemet in Hungary.
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The automaker plans to begin work on the Rastatt plant in the coming months and will produce the first model of the compact vehicle platform MMA from 2024. The number of models produced there will be reduced from seven to four.
Mercedes-Benz will also invest a low single-digit billion dollar sum in modernizing the painting systems at its Sindelfingen, Bremen, and Rastatt plants in Germany. The modernization aims to reduce energy and water consumption and the painting system’s reliance on gas, in favor of carbon-free energy.
Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz is considering expanding its U.S. plant in Tuscaloosa, where it can benefit from government subsidies under last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.
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Joerg Burzer, the production manager at Mercedes-Benz, said that the company is ready to respond to any further changes in the regulatory environment. “The framework conditions worldwide change again and again, we may have to react to that,” he said.
Mercedes-Benz has already announced that it will be ready to transition to electric vehicles by the end of this decade, where market conditions allow. With these investments, the company is taking concrete steps towards achieving its goal of reducing emissions and producing more sustainable vehicles.
