On Thursday, May 14, 2026, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported that the Franco-German joint venture KNDS is in talks with Mercedes-Benz Group AG on the takeover of the plant in Ludwigsfelde, Brandenburg, which produces eSprinter 2.0 electric vans. It is also interested in Volkswagen AG’s plant in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony.
Ludwigsfelde plant / Photo: Mercedes-Benz Group AG
It is worth adding that in May 2023, Mercedes-Benz Group AG announced a restructuring of van production, and in September 2025 preparations were confirmed for plans to transfer eSprinter production to Jawor, Poland, with the process expected to be completed in 2030.
KNDS, in turn, plans to invest 1 billion EUR in the coming years to increase its production capacity for both tracked and wheeled vehicles. It should be recalled that last year it purchased the Alstom Transport Deutschland rail-vehicle production plant in Görlitz, Saxony, from the French group Alstom. The plant had been threatened with closure.
In the case of the Ludwigsfelde plant, KNDS is interested in launching production there of GTK Boxer 8×8 wheeled armored personnel carriers. They are currently assembled in Munich, where the production rate has been increased to 10 vehicles per month, but this is still insufficient.
According to Der Spiegel sources, Mercedes-Benz is therefore reportedly holding talks with KNDS on the sale of the plant and the takeover of some of its approximately 2,000 employees for the needs of the new production. Talks are also ongoing on leasing part of the plant before its full takeover, which would allow parallel production of KNDS military vehicles and Mercedes vans.
The weekly recalls that at the Ludwigsfelde plant, Daimler once produced aircraft engines for the Nazis, while after the war the state-owned enterprise in East Germany produced, among other things, scooters, before Daimler-Benz took over the plant again in 1994.
Interestingly, the Mercedes plant in Ludwigsfelde is not the only one. KNDS is also considering the purchase of Volkswagen Group’s plant in Osnabrück, which is on the list of three factories announced for closure in December 2024 due to the crisis in the automotive industry. It is worth noting that another giant of the German defense industry, Rheinmetall AG, was interested in the plant last year, but withdrew from those plans.
In a comment to Der Spiegel, Volkswagen Group stated that it is examining realistic prospects for Osnabrück after the end of the current production phase in 2027 and is holding talks with various market players about different options. KNDS, for its part, confirmed that it is looking for suitable partner companies for its planned expansion in the defense sector and would not take part in speculation about potential partners.