Daimler-owned Mercedes-Benz will start producing electric batteries in Jawor, Poland, the company announced on January 22, it looks to ramp up its investments into electric batteries in the coming decade. The new investment will create 300 jobs and will total over 200 million euros.
“We will electrify our complete portfolio by 2022 and will be able to offer various electrified alternatives to our customers in each segment,” said Markus Schäfer (above, left), a member of the divisional board of management of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “This includes more than ten pure electric vehicles. We will produce batteries on our own, something we consider a significant success factor in the era of electric mobility. After the production of high-tech engines, we will establish additional future technology in Poland. The battery factory in Jawor is the second largest investment at this new Mercedes-Benz site.”
Jawor is an ideal location as it is approximately 100 kilometres away from the German border. A state-of-the-art engine factory is currently being built on the site, and will produce four-cylinder engines for hybrid and conventionally-driven vehicles. The plant will be Mercedes-Benz’s first production site in Poland and will create over 1,000 jobs.
“The decision of Mercedes-Benz Cars to start the production of electric batteries for a new type of vehicle in Jawor shows that companies which have started operations in our country positively assess the investment climate and want to continue to grow here,” said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (above, right). “We are witnessing the 4.0 industrial revolution in which Poland plays a leading role”
Production is set to begin in 2019, in order to supply Mercedes-Benz in Europe and around the world.
“The engine plant and the new battery factory in Jawor are important parts of our global powertrain production network. With nine factories in our global battery production network we are very well positioned. It became apparent that building an engine factory in Jawor has been a good decision. This success story will be continued with the battery factory. We are looking forward to strengthening the collaboration with the region and our Polish colleagues,” added Frank Deiß, head of production powertrain at Mercedes-Benz Cars.
Mercedes-Benz Cars is one of the first and biggest industrial companies in Poland to have concluded contracts with local green electricity and heat suppliers. The new facility will be supplied with C02-neutral energy, which will make Jawor a pioneer in Mercedes-Benz Cars’ global production network.
Mercedes-Benz is however only the latest company to announce a major investment in a Polish battery factory.
Over the last 18 months there have been sizeable investments made in the automotive sector in Poland. Toyota announced that it would be building a new hybrid car plant in addition to its investment made in 2017, while South Korean outfit, LG opened an electric battery plant in 2018.
