Panasonic Holdings Corp. is being asked by Tesla Inc. to speed up development of its next-generation 4680 batteries, said Hirokazu Umeda, chief financial officer.
Anticipation had been building for the Japanese company to unveil plans to construct a new battery factory in the United States, but instead the CFO spoke at a post-results briefing about ongoing robust demand for batteries, including the 2170 cells it supplies for Tesla’s electric vehicles.
Panasonic has been scouting sites in Oklahoma and Kansas for a multibillion-dollar factory, it was reported in March. The newly planned plant is part of its push to increase investment in EV cell production — a segment the 104-year-old electronics giant sees as critical for future growth.