Panasonic Corp., the main supplier of lithium-ion battery cells to Tesla Motors Inc., has said that cooperation with the electric-car maker on the construction of a massive U.S. battery plant is likely to boost demand from European automakers.

¡°The development with Tesla is catching a lot of attention in Europe,¡± said Laurent Abadie, who heads European operations for the leading home electronics maker. ¡°It could bring some acceleration to this industry. Especially the German carmakers are trying to catch up.¡±

As a result, Panasonic will be able to expand its market-leading position in car batteries, which it already supplies to such companies as Volkswagen, Abadie said.