Daimler expands European battery network with 33% stake in ACC venture

Daimler’s  Mercedes-Benz said on Friday it will take a 33 per cent stake in battery cell manufacturer Automotive Cells Company (ACC), expanding its European sourcing of battery cells key to its EV ambitions and currently produced primarily in Asia.

ACC, founded in 2020 by France’s Stellantis  and TotalEnergies  , will begin supplying Mercedes-Benz with batteries from its production locations in France and Germany from the middle of the decade.

“Our focus is on Europe,” Daimler Chief Executive Ola Kallenius told a press conference. “That is where ACC wants to grow, expand, and develop technologies with us.”

Daimler, which plans on making exclusively electric vehicles in 2030 if market conditions allow, will invest up to a billion euros ($1.2 billion) in the battery venture starting with a mid-three-digit-million cash investment next year, the company said.

ACC, which had previously planned for 48 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of capacity at its two plants, now aims to reach at least 120 GWh by 2030, it said on Friday, a goal which will require seven billion euros in equity, debt and subsidies.