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Mercedes and Stellantis Press Pause on EV Battery Factories
- Carmakers reassess plans for Automotive Cells Company venture
- Plants in Germany and Italy may pivot to lower-cost batteries
Stellantis NV and Mercedes-Benz Group AG are putting work on two electric-vehicle battery plants on hold and may pivot to manufacturing lower-cost cells in light of slowing demand for still-expensive EVs.
Automotive Cells Company SE, which had laid plans to build three battery factories in Europe at a total cost of €7 billion ($7.6 billion), has stopped construction in Kaiserslautern, southwest Germany, and paused prep work on a site in Termoli, on the eastern coast of Italy.