Japan¡¯s carmakers are showing interest in Panasonic Holdings¡¯s cylindrical batteries as the manufacturer proceeds with plans to roughly quadruple annual production capacity, CEO Yuki Kusumi has said.
¡°There are many options in terms of what we can work out with them,¡± Kusumi said in a group interview Wednesday.
The Osaka-based company, which supplies batteries to Tesla, said last week that it aims to boost production to 200 gigawatt-hours by March 2031, a sign that it anticipates greater demand for electric vehicles. While Panasonic has been a key supplier to Tesla from its early days, the Japanese manufacturer has been slower to build scale compared with rivals LG Energy Solution of South Korea and China¡¯s Contemporary Amperex Technology.
Kusumi also said that, as a general matter, carmakers will have to decide what to do with their factories as they transition to EVs from gasoline-based engines.
¡°Depending on the situation, there may be cases where we can handle operations,¡± Kusumi said, without elaborating on any specific automakers or locations.
Panasonic broke ground on a new $4 billion battery factory in De Soto, Kansas, in November as it seeks to ramp up output. Panasonic will step up large-scale investments to meet rapidly growing demand, Kusumi said, adding that the company sees the North American EV market growing at an average rate of 35% a year from 2021 to 2030.
The electronics group had previously said it planned to spend some ?600 billion ($4.4 billion) over the three years to March 2025 on strategic investments. The bulk of that will go to ramping up the Kansas plant, Kusumi said.
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