Tesla battery supplier Panasonic has made another move to scale up in the US. The company reportedly plans to set up a new battery production line in Gigafactory Nevada, which will likely increase output by 10%.
Sources told Nikkei Asia that Tesla recently said it would buy as many batteries as Panasonic can make to fulfill the demand. Therefore, the Japanese company will install the 15th production line in Nevada.
According to Nikkei Asia, the new line is slated to become operational within one or two years. With the additional output, battery production capacity at the gigafactory is expected to increase from 38GWh to 39 GWh. The production will be able to support 500,000 to 700,000 Tesla Model 3s.
Thanks to the partnership with Tesla, Panasonic remains one of the world's top battery companies, even with strong competition from Chinese and South Korean counterparts.
According to South Korea-based SNE Research's data released on June 5, Panasonic was ranked fourth in global battery usage for EVs from January to April 2023, falling behind CATL, BYD and LG Energy Solution. The Japanese company accumulated 15.1GWh of EV battery usage, a 35.9% increase from 2022.
SNE Research said most of Panasonic's batteries were installed in Tesla models in the North American market, including the Model 3 Long Range. The research firm added that as LGES batteries are also installed in the same Tesla model, whether the situation will affect Panasonic's market share remains to be seen. The company accounted for 8.2% of the market in the first four months of this year.
Panasonic has revealed its ambition to boost battery production recently. The company announced in May that it will raise capital spending on battery-related operations to JPY381 billion (US$2.75 billion) in the current fiscal year.
Reuters has also reported that Panasonic aims to build at least two 4680 battery cell factories in North America by 2030. The company is currently constructing a plant in Kansas, the US, which will begin operation in fiscal year 2025.
In addition, Panasonic signed a contract with the Oklahoma state government in April to receive capital investment rebates of almost US$700 million if it pursues a battery project in the area.
