(Reuters) – Japan’s Panasonic Holdings Corp will expand production of electric vehicle batteries at a factory it operates jointly with Tesla Inc in Nevada, the Nikkei reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company’s unit, Panasonic Energy, will set up the 15th production line at the Gigafactory Nevada, the report said.
Panasonic said last month that it plans to build at least two new factories in North America by 2030 to produce Tesla 4680 battery cells. March 2031, nearly four times its level at the end of this March.
At the time, Panasonic did not disclose where in North America it would add production capacity.
According to the report, annual production capacity at the facility is projected to grow by about 10% from the current 38 gigawatt-hours to 39 GWh — enough for 500,000 to 700,000 Tesla Model 3s.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Panasonic was not available for comment outside their working hours.
Tesla recently told Panasonic that it would buy “the more [Panasonic] Can”, according to an executive from the Japanese manufacturer, added the report.
Panasonic is running a pilot 4680 production line at its Wakayama factory in Japan, while Tesla is already producing 4680 battery cells, which Musk sees as key to making an affordable and compelling electric car.
(Reporting by Samarita Arunasalam in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
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