Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis' Battery Venture ACC Suspends Factory Construction

TapTechNews June 5th. The battery joint venture (AutomotiveCellsCompany, hereinafter referred to as ACC) jointly established by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis has suspended the construction project of the European electric vehicle battery factory and re-evaluated the future development direction, considering switching to the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with lower cost.

ACC was jointly founded by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis in 2021 and plans to invest 7.6 billion euros (TapTechNews note: currently about 59.888 billion yuan) to build four battery factories. Currently, a factory in Douai-Ville, France has been completed and put into production. However, Bloomberg reported that the construction of the factory in Germany of ACC has been suspended, and the preparatory work of the Italian factory has also been suspended.

ACC said that the company will adjust the investment speed according to the market trend and respond flexibly. A final decision on the fate of these factories will be made by the end of the year. Yann Vincent, the head of ACC, said that although the sales of electric vehicles in Europe increased by 14.8% year-on-year in April this year, the growth rate has slowed down, not as much as the increase of fuel vehicles and non-plug-in hybrid models. Vincent pointed out that future growth may mainly come from the mass market, which is an area that many Western electric vehicle manufacturers have ignored before, and Chinese automakers have begun to exert efforts in this regard, especially in the European market.

It is worth noting that although Mercedes-Benz previously promised to fully switch to electrification within ten years, it stated in February this year that it would continue to produce fuel vehicles in 2030, which is contrary to the urgent need of the global response to climate change.