Tokyo: Japan's Panasonic and California-based electric-vehicle venture, Tesla Motors are in talks to build a $1 billion automotive battery plant in the United States, a report said on Wednesday.
The new facility will be expected to handle the processing raw materials to assembly and go on stream in 2017, producing small, lightweight batteries for Tesla and possibly for Toyota Motor and other automakers, reported the Nikkei Daily.
Panasonic has worked with Tesla on developing next-generation auto batteries and last year expanded the contract to supply lithium-ion units to the firm to about two billion cells until 2017. It also claimed to study every possible way to strengthen ties with Tesla’ Panasonic shares jumped more than five percent in Tokyo morning trade.
"Panasonic's margins on its battery business are razor-thin, so it's little more than wishful thinking that this kind of project, if true, would actually add meaningfully to its bottom line." stated David Rubenstein, Advanced Research Japan analyst.
Batteries currently represent a big chunk of the final cost of an electric car, and slashing prices can be a key towards making such a technology more acceptable to consumers.
