This week, it was reported that Panasonic plans to invest 80 billion yen (about 4.4 billion yuan) to mass-produce a new generation of 4680 batteries for Tesla at its Kasama Prefecture factory in Japan, with a production capacity of less than 10 GWh, and is expected to start in early 2023.
Based on an estimate that a car is equipped with a 60kWh battery, the plant can serve an annual production of 150,000 cars.
Fingers crossed, it has been almost two years since the 4680 battery was released. It still adopts a cylindrical form, although it is twice as large as the previous battery, but the energy density is increased by 5 times, which means that even if the number of battery packs used is reduced, it can still achieve a 15 to 20% increase in the endurance level of the whole vehicle.
At present, Tesla's longest range of models sold in China is the Model 3 long-endurance version, CLTC has a range of 675 kilometers, an increase of 20% can break through 800 kilometers.
More critically, the overall cost of the new battery is lower, about 10 to 20% less. It should be known that battery packs account for up to 30% of the total cost of electric vehicles. Otherwise, Musk would not have said when releasing the 4680 electrodeless ear battery in 2020, which would make a $25,000 Tesla car possible.
In addition, as a competitor, LG New Energy, Ningde Times, Samsung SDI, etc. also hope to participate in the production of Tesla's 4680 battery, and it seems that the disclosed progress is not as fast as Panasonic.
