TOKYO – Panasonic Corp’s new CEO said on Thursday that the Japanese firm’s battery supply connection with Tesla Inc remains robust, despite the fact that the Japanese business has sold all of its shares in the American electric carmaker. When questioned if the sale suggested that their alliance was eroding, Yuki Kusumi replied during a press roundtable, “The sale has not affected the relationship with Tesla.”
Panasonic sold its share in Tesla for roughly 400 billion yen (US$3.62 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 31 to help pay for the US$7.1 billion acquisition of supply chain software provider Blue Yonder.
Kusumi took over from Kazuhiro Tsuga in April and is leading the conglomerate as it begins to reap the benefits of a decade-long cooperation with Tesla, which accounts for around 40% of Panasonic’s automotive earnings.
This year, the Japanese company opened a test line in Japan to manufacture a new battery cell that, according to Tesla, will halve battery costs and aid in the ramp-up of battery manufacturing.
Panasonic is also planning to extend its joint battery venture with Tesla in Nevada and create a lithium-ion battery business in Norway to reach out to European carmakers and minimize its dependency on Tesla.
At the same time, Tesla is expanding its own battery supply chain, signing supply agreements with LG Energy Solution in South Korea, which is controlled by LG Chem, and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. in China (CATL).
(Tim Kelly contributed reporting; Mark Potter and David Goodman edited the piece.)/n
