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Mercedes-Benz: 200 GWh goal based on higher expected EV

sales

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Current battery cell supply 'enough' for now, CTO says

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CTO: We are not pulling back on EV investment

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Carmaker inaugurates new battery R&D centre in Germany

(Adds comments from CTO on battery capacity)

By Victoria Waldersee

STUTTGART, July 8 (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz

will wait to see if EV demand picks up before adding more

battery cell capacity, with lower projected EV sales meaning it

will no longer need the capacity initially planned for 2030, its

technology chief said on Monday.

The German automaker had said in 2022 it would need more

than 200 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cell capacity by the

end of the decade and planned to build eight cell factories

worldwide with partners, including four in Europe.

But with EV demand lower than many automakers had forecast,

Mercedes-Benz said earlier this year it did not expect sales of

electrified vehicles, including hybrids, to reach up to 50% of

the total until 2030 - five years later than its previous

forecast of 2025.

The 200 GWh prediction was based on the assumption that

Mercedes-Benz's entire annual sales of about two million

vehicles would be electric by 2030, Chief Technology Officer

(CTO) Markus Schaefer said on Monday.

"Is the 200 gigawatt hour capacity still necessary? It's a

question of the timeline," he said.

The carmaker signed a deal with CATL in 2022 to receive

battery cells from the Chinese firm's 100 GWh plant being built

in Hungary, though it did not disclose the size of the deal.

It will also receive cells from a 40 GWh plant in France via

joint venture ACC, in which it holds a 30% stake. Plans to build

two further ACC plants in Germany and Italy were paused last

month because of low EV demand. Mercedes-Benz also has suppliers

in the U.S. and China.

"We are relatively flexible. We will think about next steps

when we have more transparency on demand," Schaefer said.

Listing the automaker's current supplier relationships, he

added: "This is enough to cover the next stage."

Mercedes-Benz has not reined in investments to electrify its

product line-up and Schaefer said it was not putting significant

sums into combustion engine cars beyond planned updates to bring

its vehicles in line with emissions regulations.

Still, CEO Ola Kaellenius said in February the company would

ensure its combustion engine line-up was competitive well into

next decade to meet demand.

BATTERY TECHNOLOGY

Schaefer was speaking to journalists at the inauguration of

a research and production centre for battery cells at

Mercedes-Benz's headquarters.

The site will produce tens of thousands of battery cells a

year in a 10,000 square metre factory, as the company strives to

take greater control of the chemical composition and industrial

manufacturing of its batteries.

Mercedes-Benz is working on lithium ion cells with

high-energy anodes and cobalt-free cathodes, as well as

solid-state technology, which holds the promise of more energy

storage, longer driving ranges and faster charging.

Increasing the energy density of EV batteries is key

particularly for premium automakers looking to reduce vehicle

weight and costs while boosting driving range.

Cell designs developed at the new centre will be shared with

partner companies and incorporated into future battery cells

from suppliers, Schaefer said

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by David Holmes and

Mark Potter

)