The Mercedes-Benz South Africa manufacturing plant in East London is slowly transforming its look with the addition of solar panels as the company moves closer to carbon-neutral manufacturing.
The MBSA plant manufactures the revered C-Class model for local and export consumption.
The 310-kilowatt peak solar panels were installed on the roof of its recently commissioned body shop building.
Mercedes-Benz Group AG, the parent company of MBSA, aims to slash its carbon footprint per passenger car by more than half by 2030 compared with 2020 levels.
The shift to solar means electrifying the vehicle fleet, charging with green energy, improving battery technology, and extensive use of recycled materials and renewable energy in production – and it plans to cover more than 70% of its energy needs through renewable energy by 2030 by rolling out solar and wind power at own sites as well as through further Power Purchase Agreements.
In line with this, MBSA piloted the PV project to evaluate the solar yield for the East London manufacturing plant.
Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-South Africa, Andreas Brand says: “As Mercedes-Benz, our goal is to make the world’s most desirable cars. The launch of the PV pilot project attests to our commitment to climate protection and the sustainable manufacturing of our products. We are proud of our successful pilot project here in East London and look forward to actively making a significant contribution to Sustainable Production/Co2 neutral manufacturing.”
The next phase will complete the plant baseload requirement with future projects on newly commissioned buildings.
The PV pilot project attests to MBSA's commitment to climate protection and sustainable manufacturing practices.
