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In the transformation process towards electric mobility, Mercedes-Benz Cars is taking another important step into the future. After intensive negotiations, the management and works council of the Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim plant in Germany have reached an agreement: In the future, the Mercedes-Benz plant in Untertürkheim will manufacture and assemble parts of the electric powertrain (eATS). The production of the eATS is a commitment to the traditional Mercedes-Benz facility in Untertürkheim and a forward-looking signal for the employees. At the same time, the company and the employees have agreed on measures to increase competitiveness and profitability.
“Right from the start, it was of great importance to the company management to produce the eATS with our Untertürkheim team – preconditions for this were long-term profitability and competitiveness. I am delighted that after intensive discussions with the works council, we have been able to agree on a future-proof framework. Producing the eATS at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Untertürkheim is the consistent continuation of our transformation in the Neckar Valley,” says Frank Deiß, head of production powertrain Mercedes-Benz Cars and responsible for the Mercedes-Benz plant in Untertürkheim. “For the works council, the long-term future viability of our site has been the focus from the very beginning. We have not allowed a mere discussion of figures or an intervention in collective agreements. With the eATS, we have taken another important step towards the future. In combination with the combustion engines, the battery factory and fuel cells, we are broadly positioned and have anchored all drive technologies in Untertürkheim so that we can continue to be Daimler’s lead plant and competence center for drive technologies in the future,” says Michael Häberle, Chairman of the Works Council of the Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim plant.
The Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim plant will become the production site for the electric powertrain (eATS) in the global Mercedes-Benz Cars powertrain production network. The management and the works council have agreed on a package of measures. This includes defined production ranges of the eATS as well as measures to increase the competitiveness and profitability of production. The Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim plant sees itself as a flexible partner for the Mercedes-Benz car plants, which produce electric vehicles of the EQ product and technology brand.
The eATS is the drive unit of electric vehicles. The eATS consists essentially of the three subsystems: an electric motor, its power electronics and the transmission part for power-transmission. The power-transmission wheelset and other components such as the control system will be manufactured in Untertürkheim. The assembly of these components into a complete system will also take place at the Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim plant.