Daimler says it will add 600 more jobs with the new investment, while also building a nearby facility to produce EV batteries in 2018. The expansion comes just a couple of years after the company announced it would be pouring $1.3 billion into the same Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant to support the manufacture of SUVs, creating 300 additional jobs for that program.

"With production locations for EVs and batteries in Europe, China and now the U.S., our global network is ready for the era of electric vehicles," Mercedes-Benz board member Markus Schaefer said in a statement. "Thanks to our plant modernization in Tuscaloosa, we will be able to quickly ramp up U.S. production of EQ models..."

Update: The original post stated that the initial $1.3 investment was made this year; it was, in fact, two years ago.