Panasonic Corp., which makes the lithium-ion batteries for Tesla Motors Inc.'s cars, will begin selling batteries that power homes in Europe, starting in Germany, where people are given greater incentives to switch to solar-generated electricity.
The push into international markets with home batteries will put the Japanese company into direct competition with flagship customer Tesla, which in May unveiled a suite of batteries to store electricity for homes and businesses. Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has said Germany is a key market for his product, because of the country's advanced consumer solar power market.
Later, Panasonic will move on to France, the U.K. and other markets, Laurent Abadie, chief executive officer of Panasonic Europe, said in an interview from the IFA electronics show in Berlin Wednesday. The company said it has not decided when it will start sales in Europe.