Mercedes-Benz Group

Premium vehicles, battery recycling and secondary-material loops from design to recovery

Mercedes-Benz's official sustainability materials describe Design for Environment, increased use of secondary raw materials, a Kuppenheim battery-recycling process with recovery rates above 96%, and a 2025 urban-mining pilot to recover and sort steel, aluminum, plastic, copper and glass from end-of-life vehicles. Public reporting does not establish one model-level chain joining source vehicle, recycled material, part qualification, plant allocation and final recovery.

96%+ Valuable-material recovery rate described for Kuppenheim battery recycling

2,500 t Annual capacity described for the Kuppenheim facility

99% Metal waste recycled, according to Mercedes-Benz circularity reporting

2025 Urban-mining end-of-life vehicle pilot launched

• Steel, aluminum, plastics, batteries, copper, glass, textiles, rubber and electronics
• End-of-life vehicles, workshop waste, production scrap and recycled feedstock
• Design-for-circularity records, supplier data, plant qualification and battery state of health

Outputs and residuals to resolve

• Premium passenger vehicles, vans, batteries, components and service parts
• Production waste, end-of-life vehicles, batteries and recovered material streams
• Model-level allocation, quality and return-loop evidence remain open

First decision: Choose one Mercedes-Benz material or battery stream. Map source vehicle or scrap, processing yield, material quality, part or cell qualification, plant allocation and recovery destination.

Mercedes-Benz describes Kuppenheim as an integrated mechanical and hydrometallurgical battery-recycling operation designed for recovery of more than 96% of valuable materials.

Urban-mining signal

A 2025 pilot is designed to recover and sort steel, aluminum, plastic, copper and glass from end-of-life vehicles.

Factory signal

Mercedes-Benz reports that 99% of metal waste is recycled.

Evidence boundary

Group-level signals do not replace one model-level material passport and verified closed loop.

Decision boundary

The public record supports one bounded next move: Choose one Mercedes-Benz material or battery stream. Map source vehicle or scrap, processing yield, material quality, part or cell qualification, plant allocation and recovery destination. It does not establish a buyer, commercial approval or supply agreement.

This is a public screening map. It separates company-disclosed flows from open qualification work. It does not convert a destination into a buyer or an announced ambition into operating capacity.

Turn Kuppenheim output into a sourcing lane

Recovery becomes strategic when the output has a defined specification and a qualified destination in a new vehicle or battery.

Next evidence: Select input, recovery process, output grade, cell or part and vehicle program.

Scale urban mining beyond the pilot

The pilot provides a physical source of secondary materials. The next challenge is consistent sorting, quality and supply.

Next evidence: Join vehicle intake, dismantling, sorted streams, supplier route and new-material demand.

Make Design for Circularity a product control

Circularity in a concept deck needs to survive engineering, procurement, plant and end-of-life checks.

Next evidence: Select model, part, material, qualification, plant process and recovery route.

• Sustainability Report 2025 Mercedes-Benz Group, official reporting page https://group.mercedes-benz.com/sustainability-report/
• Materials Mercedes-Benz Group, official materials page https://group.mercedes-benz.com/sustainability/resources-circularity/materials/
• Urban mining Mercedes-Benz Group, official 2025 circularity announcement https://group.mercedes-benz.com/company/news/urban-mining.html
• Kuppenheim battery recycling factory Mercedes-Benz, official process and recovery-rate disclosure https://group.mercedes-benz.com/company/news/recycling-factory-kuppenheim.html

Source hierarchy: filings and company disclosures first. The brief states what those sources support and leaves the unresolved plant, grade, permit, buyer and mass-balance questions explicit.

Mercedes-Benz is treating circularity as a vehicle-design and supply-chain problem, not a waste footnote. Its public reporting describes a Kuppenheim battery-recycling plant with recovery rates above 96%, a 2025 urban-mining pilot for steel, aluminum, plastics, copper and glass, and more recycled material in new vehicle programs. The next decision is one part or battery loop where recovery output can be qualified and routed back into production. The next useful working session starts with: Choose one Mercedes-Benz material or battery stream. Map source vehicle or scrap, processing yield, material quality, part or cell qualification, plant allocation and recovery destination.