IT House February 3 news, according to Market Watch reported that electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla's battery supplier Panasonic Electric said it is expected to start trial production of a more powerful new lithium-ion battery this year.
In October 2021, Panasonic demonstrated a prototype of this battery. It is called 4680, diameter 46 mm, height 80 mm. That's bigger than the battery cells Panasonic previously supplied to Tesla.
On Wednesday, Local Time, Panasonic Chief Financial Officer Hirokazu Umeda said the company was renovating the plant and expected to start trial production of 4680 electric vehicle batteries at an undisclosed location in Japan at the beginning of the fiscal year that began in April.
Subsequently, Panasonic Electric also plans to conduct trial production in Wakayama Prefecture near the Panasonic headquarters in Osaka. A company spokesperson said the timing and location of mass production had not yet been determined.
Umeda notes: "Tesla has an extremely strong demand for the 4680. So when we can really deliver the 4680, we plan to prioritize Tesla's needs. ”
A Panasonic spokesperson said the company's business with Tesla accounts for about 60% of Panasonic's energy business revenue. In the three months ended December 31 last year, Panasonic Energy's revenue was 194.3 billion yen (about 10.803 billion yuan). This shows that Tesla's business generated about $1 billion (about 6.36 billion yuan) in revenue for Panasonic in the quarter.
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