Daimler has taken a near 10 per cent stake in Tesla Motors following a successful partnership between the two in integrating Tesla’s lithium-ion battery packs and charging electronics into the first 1,000 units of the Smart car.
The investment will enable the partners to collaborate on the development of battery systems, electric drive systems and individual vehicle projects. According to Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, Tesla may have expertise with electric vehicles but it can benefit greatly from the general automotive experience of Daimler particularly with regards to safety and mass production.
Professor Herbert Kohler, the vice president of e-drive and future mobility at Daimler, will now take a seat on Tesla’s board of directors.
Daimler believes the long term partnership will complement its strategy to advance the electrification of the automobile. It has had 100 Smart electric cars undergoing large scale trials in London since 2007 and later this year, production of up to 1,000 units of the Smart Fortwo with Electric Drive will begin for mobility projects such as those in Berlin and Italy.
Later this year Daimler will also start small-series production of the Mercedes B-Class with a fuel cell drive system and in 2010 it will introduce the first battery powered Mercedes Benz.
