Car stuff (public number: chedongxi)
Author | The Way
Edited | Mumi
According to foreign media CleanTechnica, Panasonic is renovating factory equipment and will try to produce 4680 batteries.
Panasonic said that if the 4680 battery can be delivered, it will be supplied to Tesla for the first time. But at present, Tesla's battery supplier is not only Panasonic, and multiple battery companies are also developing 4680 batteries, which may be supplied to Tesla at that time.
For Panasonic, it has established a deep binding with Tesla, Tesla's business has accounted for 60% of Panasonic's energy business, and whether the future cooperation between the two sides is harmonious will wait for time to prove.
First, Panasonic busy refurbishment facilities for trial production of 4680 new batteries
Kazuo, Panasonic CFO, said he was renovating the facility and planned to start trial production of the 4680 battery in Wakayama Prefecture, near its Osaka headquarters. Trial production is expected to start in April, and he said Tesla is very hungry for 4680 batteries, and if it can deliver 4680 batteries, it will give priority to Tesla.
Compared with the previous battery produced by Panasonic for Tesla, the 4680 battery is larger in size, with a battery diameter of 46 mm and a height of 80 mm, hence the name 4680 battery. The battery cell energy is increased by 5 times, the vehicle mileage is increased by 16%, and the power output is increased by 6 times. The volume increases, the power increases, and thus the number of cells required for the vehicle is greatly reduced.
The 2170 battery pack used by Tesla is composed of 4000 cells, while the 4680 battery pack only needs 800, which reduces the number of battery assembly time, improves the production efficiency of the car, and solves the Tesla assembly problem in disguise.
The battery will be used first for the Model Y, and may also be used for the Model S and Model X as production costs decrease as production efficiency increases in the future.
▲4680 battery performance improvement
Second, Panasonic energy business patron Tesla spawned battery iteration
Tesla contributed the main sales of Panasonic in the fourth quarter of last year, and it remains to be seen whether the legend can be continued in the first quarter of this year. A Panasonic spokesperson said that business with Tesla accounts for about 60 percent of its energy business revenue. Panasonic reported revenue of 194.3 billion yen (about 10.7 billion yuan) for the three months ended December 31, indicating that Tesla's business generated $1 billion (about 6.3 billion yuan) in revenue for Panasonic in the quarter. She also said that the specific time and location of mass production of the 4680 battery are to be determined.
Tesla not only promoted the improvement of Panasonic's business, its demand also spawned the iteration of Panasonic batteries. Not only was the 18650 lithium battery produced by Panasonic selected by Tesla 11 years ago, but Panasonic also built a "super battery factory" with Tesla in the United States in 2014, and it was launched with Tesla in early 2017 to jointly launch a 2170 lithium battery to improve battery performance, but when Tesla built the Shanghai factory in 2018, Musk said that the battery would be supplied by several localization companies such as Panasonic. In October 2021, Panasonic said at the press conference that it was mass production under Tesla's desire. It can be seen that in terms of battery cooperation, although the two companies have staged a number of tug-of-war, they can ultimately achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
▲4680 battery compared with previous batteries
Conclusion: Panasonic and Tesla are still in the game
Trade is a complementary, over the years, Panasonic in Tesla driven by Seiko Boyi, the production of 4680 batteries including a variety of batteries, the energy business bigger and stronger, in the automotive industry to gain a foothold, and Tesla is relying on Panasonic excellent battery technology, in improving the endurance of electric vehicles at the same time, but also improve production efficiency, attracting a large number of loyal users, can be described as the icing on the cake.
Trade is also a game, while embracing partners, Tesla intends to avoid Panasonic is dominant, while choosing Panasonic batteries, purposefully and Panasonic to build a super factory, and according to local conditions, will also choose local battery manufacturers to produce 4680 batteries, while reducing costs and risks, to ensure stable output. In 2022, whether Tesla and Panasonic can each play a wishful thinking, let us wait and see!