Slowing EV uptake may delay Panasonic's EV battery expansion, CEO says

Panasonic Energy India

21/05/2024 18:00

TOKYO, May 22 (Reuters) - A slowdown in the take-up of
electric vehicles in the U.S. may prompt Tesla-supplier
Panasonic  6752.T  to delay investing in additional plants to
boost its automotive battery capacity in North America, the
Japanese group's chief executive said.
    Panasonic, whose energy unit makes batteries for Tesla
 TSLA.O , is closely watching its Chinese supply chain and
battery material procurement following China's move last year to
tighten graphite export controls, Yuki Kusumi said.
    "There's a need to control the speed of investment depending
on the speed at which EVs spread," he said during a roundtable
interview with reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
    Kusumi's remarks may suggest Panasonic will not build a
third battery plant in North America with its energy unit any
time soon. It would probably take a while for the company to
make a decision, Kusumi said.
    Panasonic Energy has a battery factory in the U.S. State of
Nevada and is building a second one in Kansas, as part of a push
to expand annual battery capacity to 200 gigawatt hours by March
2031.
    The company will decide investments based on commitments it
gets from automakers, Kusumi said, adding that it was assessing
mid- to long-term market demand.
    "The one situation that should be avoided most, is one where
a line is not used after making an investment," he said.
    The transition to EVs from cars running on gasoline has hit
a rough patch globally as consumers slow the pace at which they
switch to battery-powered vehicles amid inadequate
infrastructure in some developed markets.
    Despite that trend, Chinese automakers including BYD are
bringing lower-cost electric models that often use relatively
cheap lithium iron phosphate batteries to a growing number of
markets around the world. 
    Panasonic has seen a "drastic" decrease in demand for
batteries for a certain car brand, pushing up fixed costs in
Japan, Kusumi said, without naming the particular automaker or
model to which it supplies batteries.
    

 (Reporting by Daniel Leussink, Ritsuko Shimizu and David Dolan;
Editing by Susan Fenton)
 ((daniel.leussink@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter:
@danielleussink;))