So there it is, Daimler's panning strategy: the Stuttgart-based company plans to build eight gigafactorys and produce battery cells for more than 200 gigawatt hours there.
It had been preached in Stuttgart for years that something like this would hardly be worthwhile, batteries are nothing but mass-produced goods, cheap and easy to obtain in Asia.
That seemed understandable, because, unlike other car companies, Daimler had gained its own experience, had developed and produced cells together with Evonik and had a belly landing - because the market was not yet ready. But now the world is different. Climate protection plans make getting out of the combustion engine a race against time. And if you don't want to be left behind in the new technology, you have to design it yourself.
In the meantime, it has long been clarified that a battery is not a battery, an experience that you can certainly experience yourself on trivial devices.
Anyone who combines the best chemical mix with the cleverest power electronics and perfect thermal management has a product that is worlds better than the standard.
In this respect, the battery system is practically the new engine, the defining distinguishing feature for a car.
In line with its own slogan “The best or nothing”, Mercedes has no choice but to be at the forefront of these technologies.
And all other car manufacturers in Europe should take a very careful look at what is developing there before they are overtaken, possibly from providers who have not yet been known in this country.