It is reported that the investment will land in the battery factory “Super Factory No. 1” in Nevada, USA. Panasonic will add a production line and increase its production capacity by 10% to 39GWh per year.
On August 19, some media learned that Panasonic will increase the production capacity of Tesla batteries next year, for which the company is expected to invest more than 100 million US dollars.
This investment will land in the battery factory “Super Factory No. 1” in Nevada, USA, which has 13 production lines. Panasonic will also add another production line and increase its production capacity by 10% to 39GWh per year.
This is the first expansion of the plant since it opened in 2017. Panasonic is also upgrading the batteries produced in the above-mentioned factories. Starting from September this year, the storage capacity of the batteries produced will increase by 5%.
Some people point out that this investment marks a easing of tensions between the two partners.
Since the spring of 2019, the relationship between Panasonic and Tesla has been unstable. However, the hot sales of electric vehicles such as the Tesla Model 3 sedan prompted the Japanese company to invest more money in the cooperation. Thanks to this, the mood of the two parties has eased.
In the context of the new crown epidemic, Tesla Model 3 sales are still outstanding, and Tesla is about to start mass production of Model Y SUV models.
In addition, Tesla’s new Cybertruck launched in November last year also received numerous orders.
At a press conference on July 22, local time, Musk said that limited battery production is a major challenge to the growth of automobile production.
As early as 2018, the two companies had hoped to increase the production capacity of “Super Factory No. 1” by 50%. However, due to the production of Model 3 blocked, this plan has not been realized.
Since then, Musk has spoken through Twitter, saying that battery supply has become a limiting factor in Model 3 production. So far, the friction between the two companies has become more open.
Today, Tesla’s sales and earnings have seen strong growth, a result that both Panasonic and Tesla are satisfied. A Panasonic executive said: “This is not the time to worry about making major investments. Since Tesla will produce more than 1 million vehicles annually next year, the corresponding battery production capacity may also be expanded.”
In addition, Tesla’s global sales this year is expected to reach 500,000 vehicles, an increase of 36% over the previous year, which prompted the company to plan to build a new factory in Texas.