FRANKFURT, Germany - The German Automobilwoche magazine reported that as part of its efforts to sell electric vehicles EV Mercedes plans to invest billions of dollars to modernize its plants in China, Germany and Hungary over the next few years.
Mercedes said that it would only sell electric cars by the end of the decade if market conditions allow.
The company's production manager, Joerg Burzer, said they were investing a three-digit million-dollar million amount per plant for the run up, noting that these investments will be made at plants in Beijing, Rastatt in Germany and Kecskemet in Hungary.
He said starting in 2024, the company's Rastatt plant will produce the first model of the compact vehicle platform MMA, and the number of models produced will be cut to four from seven.
The German automaker will make a low single-digit billion dollar investment by modernizing the painting systems at its plants in Sindelfingen, Bremen and Rastatt in Germany.
The Automobilwoche report says that the modernization aims to reduce energy and water consumption, as well as reduce the reliance of the painting system on gas, as opposed to carbon-free energy.
According to the report, Mercedes could expand its US plant in Tuscaloosa to benefit from US government subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act last year.
Burzer stated that Mercedes is prepared to deal with further changes in the regulatory environment and that we may have to react to that as the framework conditions around the world change again and again.