Daimler to Triple Production Capacity for Its Battery Packs

As global carmakers prepare to manufacture higher volumes of plug-in electric cars, their battery strategies differ. Some purchase in both Li-ion cells and complete battery packs, some buy cells but design and assemble them into packs in-house and some own part of the cell maker.

Just recently, Daimler has announced that its Deutsche Accumotive battery subsidiary will triple its production capacity for battery packs. A company press release mentioned that Accumotive will spend €500 million ($550 million) on a second battery facility, which will assemble packs utilizing Li-ion cells from South Korean companies, though Daimler did not mention it in the release. In fact, the automaker shut down its cell subsidiary Li-Tec last year, claiming it was not economical to make cells themselves in Germany.

Groundbreaking for the new plant, on 50 acres adjacent to its existing Kamenz facility in Saxony, will begin this autumn. The facility is anticipated to begin production of battery packs sometime next summer, to be employed in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery-electric models of both Mercedes-Benz luxury cars and Smart city cars.

Established in 2009, Accumotive assembles battery packs for vehicles and stationary storage, but does not fabricate the Li-ion cells themselves.

The new generation of Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, slated to be unveiled this year as a 2017 model, will use cells bought from LG Chem and made in South Korea.

Daimler has also sourced cells from Samsung SDI. Last year, the automaker announced that SK Innovation had been chosen to supply cells for an upcoming electric car, but did not disclose other details. Earlier, the company had bought complete battery packs from Tesla Motors, utilizing Panasonic cells, for a previous generation of its Smart ForTwo Electric Drive and limited runs of its small A-Class and compact B-Class battery-electric cars.

According to Dieter Zetsche, the CEO Mercedes-Benz Cars and board chair of Daimler AG, the expansion of the Accumotive battery-assembly facility underscores their commitment to the constant expansion of electromobility. Meanwhile, Harald Kröger, the company’s electrification chief, said that they would expand the production capacity constantly in the coming years.

Hence, Daimler seems to be following the model set by GM eight years ago, in which it invited Li-ion cell manufacturers to compete for contracts to supply the first-ever Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car.

LG Chem won that competition, and has the largest range of carmaker cell contracts in the business. By contrast, Panasonic is employed by Tesla, and Automotive Energy Supply Corp cells are fitted only to current Nissan electric cars.

Just like Tesla, Mercedes-Benz offers not just cars with plugs but also energy-storage batteries for both home and commercial applications. Customers can now order home-storage batteries from Mercedes in Germany, with installations to begin later this year.

Since Accumotive began battery production in 2012, Daimler claims, the company has delivered over 70,000 Li-ion packs.