Just today we picked up four rather loud announcements from well-known manufacturers in the electrical engineering sector:
– Mercedes-Benz joins Stellantis and TotalEnergies joint venture to produce ACC Battery. at
– Volkswagen builds new battery factory in China
– Ford is about to select a location for its battery production in Europe
– Panasonic has promised to introduce high energy density cylindrical cells of the 4680 type for EV batteries

Mercedes-Benz joins Stellantis and TotalEnergies in the production of EV batteries.

A newly formed joint venture between Stellantis (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the PSA Group conglomerate) and TotalEnergies (French oil and gas company) was added today when Mercedes-Benz announced its involvement in the company’s EV battery production efforts. The previously announced joint venture obliged Stellantis and TotalEnergies to invest up to 5 billion euros in the construction of two battery production facilities in Europe by 2030. With the introduction of Mercedes-Benz, however, the planned investments increased by a further two billion euros. The joint venture, known as the Automotive Cells Company (ACC), which is now supported by three large companies, has set itself the goal of increasing annual battery output to at least 120 GWh by 2030.
This joint venture, supported by an investment of 1.3 billion euros from the European Union, marks a completely new era in battery production in Europe. Experts assume that the first battery factory in Kaiserslautern will go into operation in 2023. More factories will flourish in later years – we know ACC plans to build one in France and possibly the third in Germany.

Volkswagen new battery factory in China

The Volkswagen Group announced the construction of a completely new battery production facility in China. New battery factory, strategically located next to an already operating Volkswagen production facility in Hefei, Anhui Shell delivers 150,000 battery systems every year. The plant, which produces battery modules for the modular electric drive system (MEB platform) from Volkswagen, will start production in 2023. This is the third battery production facility that Volkswagen is currently building – Asia (Anhui, China), Europe (Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic) and the USA (Chattanooga, Tennessee). Given that Volkswagen already has enormous battery production capacity, I can only imagine that the Volkswagen Group‘s transition to BEVs will be relentlessly quick.

Ford is about to decide whether to open a new battery production plant in Halewood, England, or Cologne, Germany.

One of Ford’s transmission factories in Europe will shift its focus to the production of electric car batteries. Ford is still trying to decide whether to expand battery production by investing in its factories in Halewood, England, or Cologne, Germany. With the announcement that it will only sell electric cars in Europe by 2030, Ford is trying to maximize its EV production by building cars based on the Volkswagen MEB platform. The company will deliver its first MEB-based electric vehicle in 2023, thereby significantly expanding its cooperation with Volkswagen. Some time ago I visited the Ford factories in Cologne and saw that they are located next to the Volkswagen factories in the region. Given the infrastructure that has already been set up, it seems obvious that Ford will convert its transmission factory in Cologne into a factory that builds electric motors, transmissions and inverters for electric vehicles.

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These three announcements, released today, show a dramatic change in the automotive industry. With all major manufacturers investing heavily in electric car batteries, we can only expect the BEV revolution to be closer than we can ever imagine. It seems that right now manufacturers are preparing the infrastructure for a massive onslaught of electric vehicles. Even Panasonic, a company that supplies its batteries for Tesla 3 and Tesla Y, has announced the new type of higher density EV battery. The ongoing change clearly shows that we are on a path of no return. Electric cars are here to change a whole perspective on the automotive industry.

Safet Satara is an automotive journalist and enthusiast who has nurtured his automotive endeavors since he was 19. He specializes in European cars, EV technology and research on automotive issues. Safet has also written automotive articles for Gearheads.org, Topspeed.com, Autowise.com and various print magazines including ProAuto. His specialty – testing cars – more than 500 tested cars under his belt. You can follow Safet on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.