Panasonic won’t open Chinese battery plant for Tesla

Panasonic doesn’t want a new battery plant for Tesla’s Gigafactory in China as the business has struggled to turn a profit

Tesla battery supplier Panasonic said it has no plans to open a battery plant in China as the electric vehicle maker seeks to expand in the country.

Tesla has recently started producing cars in its Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai and it's opening more service centers and charging stations across the country. But if it needs Panasonic's batteries for its new cars in China, Tesla will have to import them.

"We don't have any plans at the moment to set up a production site in China for Tesla's Chinese business," Panasonic CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga told reporters at a Friday briefing, according to Reuters. "It is up to Tesla to decide whether it would use Chinese-made batteries from other manufacturers or get batteries from our Gigafactory 1 (in Nevada)."

Panasonic is the exclusive battery cell supplier for new EVs from Tesla, but the joint business has struggled to turn a profit. Tsuga has previously said he underestimated development costs and risks associated with Tesla, Reuters reported.

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