Daimler has broken ground on a new battery plant, which will play a vital role in its electric vehicle offensive for the next few years.

German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel with Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG.

Sited at the carmaker’s wholly owned Accumotive energy story subsidiary in Kamenz, Germany, the facility is Daimler’s second factory for lithium-ion batteries and has been earmarked for investment of around 500 million euros (£4.3m) out of a total investment of around one billion euros in worldwide battery production.

The new plant, which is situated around 37 miles from Dresden, is scheduled to go into operation in mid-2018 and is located by the existing battery factory.

Mercedes-Benz is planning to launch an entire family of electric vehicles under its EQ sub-brand, with more than 10 vehicles scheduled for launch by 2022, covering smart cars to large SUVs. The carmaker is planning for EVs to make up between 15 and 25% of its sales by 2025 while also pushing ahead with launching hybrid models.