Mercedes opens Alabama battery plant, adding up to 600 jobs

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mercedes-Benz has opened a new electric vehicle battery factory near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, that will create up to 600 new jobs. The German automaker said Tuesday that the plant in Bibb County opened a few months before it plans to start making two all-electric SUVs at a large factory in nearby Tuscaloosa. Mercedes says the new battery plant will make cells for the EQS and EQE SUVs, which will be built for sale in the U.S. and for exports. The automaker says it spent about $1 billion on the battery plant and to upgrade the assembly line in Tuscaloosa to make electric vehicles.