Daimler to start building battery plant in Alabama

BERLIN, Germany - With plans to launch its own electric sports utility vehicle - the EQ, and enter a sector that is currently dominated by Tesla, the German auto giant, Daimler has unveiled its $1 billion investment plan.

On Friday, the German carmaker, which owns Mercedes-Benz announced that it would be upgrading its factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

As part of an upgrade at its Tuscaloosa factory, where the production of a new sports utility vehicle, the GLE has already begun, Daimler will start building a battery plant. 

As it makes its dramatic shift from combustion to electric cars, Daimler has said that it is preparing six factories to produce EQ electrified vehicles.

The factories would also work on manufacturing eight battery plants.

The automaker is currently building plants in Beijing and Bangkok and already has a battery manufacturing facility in Kamenz, Germany. 

In a statement on Friday, Markus Schaefer, a Daimler board member said, “We aim to play a pioneering role in the development of e-mobility and are well-prepared to accomplish this mission."

Daimler has also added that its home plant, which is based in Sindelfingen and currently makes the Mercedes-Benz S-Class model, will be the center of competence for building large autonomous and electric cars.