Mercedes Building Engine Plant In Poland For 4-Cylinder Units

Mercedes-Benz is taking the next step towards its electrified future. The German automaker is almost done constructing a new engine plant in the city of Jawor, Poland, where four-cylinder diesel and gasoline motors with mild-hybrid systems will be assembled.

The factory will have a CO2-neutral footprint and will employ more than 1,000 people, or about 500 more than initially planned and announced at the plant's groundbreaking last year. The increased number of employees is due to the high demand for cars equipped with the company's four-cylinder engines. Production is scheduled to begin next year.

"In our CO2-neutral plant in Jawor, we will build highly efficient engines for our hybrid vehicles and conventionally powered passenger cars," said Markus Schäfer, member of the divisional board of Mercedes. "The construction of this plant is an investment in the future and an important milestone on our way to the mobility of the future. This is a strong sign of our commitment to the location and to German-Polish friendship."

The Jawor plant will be responsible for diesel and gasoline engines for traditional ICE-powered cars and hybrids, and all they will feature a 48-volt electric system. The plant will use 100 percent electric energy from renewable sources and the energy consumption and distribution will be monitored and controlled through touch screens in real time.

What's even more interesting, driverless transport systems will be used to transport materials, while, at some point in the near future, the plant will also ditch all paper documents in the administrative and financial departments and switch to an entirely digital documentation.

As a final note, Mercedes is also happy to announce it had record sales in Poland last year with increase of about 40 percent compared to 2016. The company is now the premium brand with the highest number of registrations in the country.