Mercedes-Benz Trucks has introduced its goal to construct the sector’s first purely electrical plant in Jawor, Poland. In long run, the huge vehicles can be produced right here as a closed fashion (panel van) at the foundation of the brand new electrical platform VAN.EA (Van Electrical Structure). On the other hand, the contracts have now not but been signed.
The verdict at the location and the concrete implementation nonetheless rely at the ultimate fulfilment of quite a lot of prerequisites, together with the granting of subsidies for the funding in Jawor. Mercedes-Benz Vehicles has been production combustion engines in Jawor since 2019 and battery methods since 2021.
The plans in Jawor are a part of an introduced reorganisation of the Mercedes-Benz Trucks manufacturing community. In September 2022, the corporate had already introduced that the Düsseldorf plant (which has up to now produced the closed-design Sprinter and eSprinter) would in long run construct the open-design massive van on a VAN.EA foundation (i.e. the platform for bodybuilders or flatbed vehicles) – in parallel with manufacturing of the brand new eSprinter, which is scheduled to begin in the second one part of 2023. Ludwigsfelde (up to now the open fashion of the Sprinter/eSprinter) will proceed to fabricate the Sprinter sequence and may also be house to the competence centre for electrical van customisations.
On the other hand, the plans for a manufacturing three way partnership with Rivian, that have been additionally introduced in September (and laid down in a letter of intent), might not be applied on this shape. In step with Mercedes, Rivian’s plan have been “placed on cling because of the reprioritisation in their tasks”. A joint manufacturing facility for massive electrical vehicles at an present Mercedes-Benz web site in Central and Japanese Europe have been introduced. Joint manufacturing traces had been to gather each Mercedes automobiles according to the VAN.EA and Rivian fashions on their Rivian Mild Van (RLV) platform.
Rivian itself showed in its personal remark that control has suspended plans to provide its electrical industrial automobiles in Europe and can due to this fact now not pursue the memorandum of figuring out with Mercedes-Benz. “At this day and age, we consider that specialize in our client industry, in addition to our present industrial industry, constitute probably the most horny near-term alternatives to maximise worth for Rivian,” says Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe.
As a substitute, Mercedes-Benz Trucks has now signed a memorandum of figuring out with the Polish executive and different Polish financial companions. “This presentations that we use the very good prerequisites and commonplace infrastructure on the established Jawor location to construct a brand new plant for the manufacturing of vehicles,” says Mathias Geisen, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks. “As we flexibly manufacture vehicles with combustion and electrical drivetrains in all our present crops, we can construct our first natural electrical plant in Jawor. We thus set new requirements and transfer ahead on our trail in opposition to sustainable, absolutely electrical mobility.”
By way of constantly that specialize in the manufacturing of all-electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz Trucks says it targets to “reach productiveness benefits and thus considerably reinforce its competitiveness”. The established location, it says, will allow optimisation of prices and the provision chain in addition to energy-efficient manufacturing.
On the other hand, the VAN.EA is not going to most effective be utilized in Düsseldorf and Jawor: The producer additionally introduced that the plant in Vitoria, Spain, which produces Mercedes-Benz’s mid-sized vehicles (V-Elegance, EQV, (e)Vito and (e)Vito Tourer), will even produce a mid-sized van according to the VAN.EA e-platform from the center of the last decade. There are not any additional main points in this automobile but, however it’s more likely to be de facto the successor era of the fashions up to now in-built Vitoria – kind of within the five-metre elegance.
The one location now not suffering from the reorganisation is Maubeuge, France, the place the Renault plant builds the small T-Elegance fashions, and in long run the EQT in addition to the Citan and eCitan.
mercedes-benz.com, businesswire.com (Rivian)
