Batteries: ACC is accelerating in northern France, but production for Mercedes is falling behind

ACC continues to expand its operations at its plant in Douvrin. Following Stellantis, this French battery manufacturer must supply Mercedes with new production units, with mass production now expected to begin in mid-2027. This timeline has been delayed, despite the company still aiming for financial stability by 2028.

Two years after opening its gigafactory in Douvrin, ACC is entering a new phase of development. Owned jointly by Stellantis, TotalEnergies, and Mercedes, the battery manufacturer is gradually increasing production volumes for Stellantis Group’s electric vehicles. However, its next major project involves Mercedes, with specific production facing several months of delay already.

Mercedes Will Have to Wait Until Mid-2027

The second production line at the French factory began manufacturing the first modules for Mercedes this summer. However, these are still only prototypes used in the homologation process. Actual mass production is not expected to start until the end of the first half of 2027. ACC has not yet specified which models from the German brand will use these batteries.

In any case, this start date is later than originally planned. It should be noted that scaling up a battery cell factory is particularly complex: each stage requires thorough testing, and manufacturing defects can render a battery unusable. At ACC, current production is still far from the initial targets.

Why? Due to the current rejection rates at Douvrin. According to reports from Auto Infos, these rates remain between 15% and 20%, while the long-term goal is to reduce them to around 5%. ACC has relied on about a hundred specialists from Chinese company EVE to improve its manufacturing processes. But for now, this technology transfer is not enough!

Stellantis Accelerates Its Pace

While waiting for Mercedes, the factory primarily supplies Stellantis. ACC now produces enough batteries to equip approximately 5,000 cars per month, up from only 1,000 at the beginning of the year. The goal is to exceed 6,000 vehicles per month by the end of 2026. The French-made cells are used in Peugeot e-3008 and e-5008 models with extended range (97 kWh batteries), as well as in the DS N°8.

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Citroën, Opel, and DS also plan to adopt ACC batteries in some of their electric models. The joint venture hopes to equip over 30,000 vehicles by the end of 2026, before fully operating its first production facility in Douvrin in 2027. In the long term, these two lines are intended to supply batteries for around 400,000 cars per year. An impressive pace!

Profitability still a long way off

This increase in volume is essential to improve the accounts. ACC aims for profitability by 2027, excluding research expenses and depreciation of investments. However, true financial balance will not be achieved until the end of 2028. But for that to happen, everything must proceed as planned...

The stakes go far beyond ACC. In fact, most of the cells used by Europe’s automotive industry still come from Asia. The success of the Douvrin plant represents one of the few ways for Europe to gradually reduce its dependence on Chinese manufacturers. It is also a significant achievement for France.