At the celebration of their 20th Anniversary in Alabama, Mercedes-Benz announced that that it will invest $1 billion to set up electric vehicle production at its Tuscaloosa plant and build a battery factory nearby.  They said these moves will create 600 new jobs.

At the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International facility in Tuscaloosa, workers assemble the GLS, GLE and GLE Coupe SUVs for the global market as well as the C-Class sedan for North America. Mercedes-Benz plans to manufacture electric SUVs under Mercedes' EQ sub-brand.  They also plan to build a new global logistics center and after-sales North American hub in Bibb County.

ABC News reports the Alabama battery plant will join facilities in Germany and China; construction is to begin next year on the 1 million square-foot (92,900 square-meter) facility, which is planned to start operating at the beginning of the next decade.

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