Mercedes-Benz together with local partners Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant and Thonburi Energy Storage Systems have begun production of plug-in hybrid batteries in Bangkok.
“We have been successfully producing Mercedes-Benz vehicles for the local market at our Thai plant for more than 40 years beginning with the W123 model. With the start of production of our battery factory in Bangkok, we are taking another important step in the expansion of our global battery production network at Mercedes-Benz Cars with nine factories worldwide,” Mercedes-Benz said.
The Thai production plant currently assembles 10 different models such as the GLA, C-Class Sedan, C-Class Coupé, E-Class Sedan, CLS, S-Class Sedan, GLC, GLC Coupé, GLE and A-Class Sedan. In 2018 alone, TAAP produced more than 15,000 cars for Mercedes-Benz.
The battery production and plant expansion is part of a 100 million euros investment by both Mercedes-Benz and their Thai partners in response to the high demand for electric mobility, particularly plug-in hybrid vehicles in Thailand.
The battery systems manufactured in the new battery factory, are used among others for the current Mercedes-Benz C-Class, E-Class, S-Class as well as for the Mercedes-Benz GLC and GLC Coupé. It’s said that plug-in hybrid models for the C- and E-Class are high in demand in Thailand.
The move is in line with Mercedes-Benz’s long term goal of producing a carbon neutral fleet by 2039. By 2030, every second vehicle sold should have an electric drive; whether they’re fully electric or plug-in hybrids.
The battery factory in Bangkok will meet this requirement by using large solar systems on the roofs of the plants. Excess solar power, for example, is temporarily stored in “2nd-life battery storage systems” from recycled electric vehicle batteries.
In total, the battery production network consists of nine factories at seven locations on three continents. The first factory in Kamenz is in series operation. The second factory in Kamenz (Germany), the battery factory at the Beijing site (China) and in Bangkok (Thailand) started series production in 2019. The battery factories in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim (Germany), Tuscaloosa (USA) and Jawor (Poland) will start at the beginning of the next decade.
