Mercedes Benz Starts Battery Production in Thailand
Mercedes Benz has taken another step towards a greener future. The German automaker is getting serious about going green, and their newest facility, a 50,000 sq. meter site houses their new hybrid battery factory.
Mercedes Benz partnered up with Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant (TAAP) and Thonburi Energy Storage Systems (TESM) to invest more than 100 million euros to further expand the existing plant and begin production of plug in hybrid batteries. The 50,000 sq. meter facility is located in Samut Prakan in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. The opening of this facility has created over 300 new jobs, 100 of which are in the production of batteries.
The plug in hybrid battery systems manufactured in the new facility are used in a wide array of vehicles across the Mercedes Benz lineup. The current Mercedes Benz C Class, E Class, S Class, Mercedes Benz GLC and GLC Coupe all have models that use a hybrid powertrain.
The facility’s central assembly stations were set up in the same fashion as it was in the battery factory in Kamenz, Germany. This ensures that all battery types are manufactured in the same process with the same standards. The Bangkok factory made sure to meet all of the Mercedes Benz standards in terms of ergonomics, industrial safety and digitalization. The plant also has its own assessment and testing center.
Mercedes Benz also aims for the facility to be able to fully produce batteries not just for plug in hybrids, but for fully electric vehicles as well in the near future.
This new facility is the latest addition to Mercedes Benz’s efforts in trying to help save the planet. There are already plants in Germany and Beijing, and Mercedes plans to open more in the United States, Poland, and another in Germany by the beginning of the next decade.
