Panasonic (6752.T)’s CEO said China remains a top market despite geopolitics highlighting the need for solid supply chains elsewhere.
Companies should “de-risk” but not “decouple” from the world’s second-largest economy, according to G7 leaders in Hiroshima.
“We will continue to develop our businesses in China as we have done in the past,” Yuki Kusumi told reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday, adding that it was “no doubt” a high-priority market.
Panasonic’s end-March sales were 964.7 billion yen ($7.14 billion), 11.5% of which came from China.
Kusumi said Japanese automakers were interested in Panasonic’s cylindrical batteries and that the Osaka-based business may manage operations.
Panasonic’s CEO didn’t name domestic carmakers that had inquired about its cylindrical batteries for electric vehicles.
Last Monday, Panasonic’s energy unit, which supplies Tesla (TSLA.O) batteries, announced plans to build at least two new North American 4680 battery factories by 2030.
That would quadruple its auto battery capacity to 200-gigawatt hours per year by March 2031.
Kusumi said Panasonic was “of course” researching 4680 dry electrode battery cells.
