Mercedes-Benz said it will manufacture the first production model of the new EQ product brand at its Bremen plant in Germany by the end of 2020.
The production model will depend on the EQ show car – an electric vehicle with the looks of a sporty SUV Coupe, which was showcased at the Mondial de l’Automobile 2016 in Paris, this September.
The company claims that the electric car will have a range of 500km (310miles) and will have features which are standard across Mercedes-Benz cars such as safety, comfort, functionality and connectivity.
The product range EQ is a part of the company’s corporate strategy for future mobility bundled into one term CASE.
The four letters correspond to the four future strategies for the company, which include Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Services and Electric Drive.
Daimler plans to have at least 10 all-electric vehicles in its vehicle portfolio by 2025. It says that with its existing infrastructure, electric vehicles can be built at its facilities in four continents.
Apart from these models, the plant will produce GLC F-CELL, a fuel cell vehicle with plug-in technology along with the electric vehicle.
Daimler CEO and Mercedes-Benz Cars head Dieter Zetsche said: “Emission-free automobiles are the future. I am pleased that for the series production of our first electric EQ model, we can count on one of our most important partners in the global production network: our colleagues from Bremen.
“The Bremen plant delivers a maximum of flexibility and high speed as well as Mercedes quality from the beginning, also for our electric models.”
At present, the plan is to produce these electric vehicles from its plant in Bremen. The product portfolio at the plant, currently includes conventional combustion engines, plug-in hybrids in C-Class and the GLC.
Mercedes-Benz Bremen plant Works Council chairman Michael Peters said: “Our team is proud and happy about the decision to produce the first EQ vehicle in Bremen. The greatest future prospects in the industry currently lie in electromobility and it is our ultimate goal that the Bremen site participates in this.
“We understand the company`s decision as gratitude and appreciation for the great performance of our colleagues over the past years“,.
Batteries for the electric vehicles will be developed Daimler’s subsidiary Accumotive and manufactured at Kamenz facility in Saxony.
The production is currently being expanded under its corporate strategy of CASE with an investment of €500m ($546m). With the investment, one of the largest battery production factories in Europe will be built.
Through Accumotive, Daimler plans to produce lithium-ion batteries for all of its electric vehicles including plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles.
Apart from these, the plant will also produce batteries for stationary Mercedes-Benz energy storage units. The company aims to invest an overall €1bn in the global battery production compound in the coming years.
