Panasonic is shifting gears to start supplying hardware to automakers other than just Tesla, with a new company set to receive the manufacturer’s batteries.
Tesla supplier Panasonic will now also supply rival automaker Lucid Group with electric vehicle (EV) batteries, according to a statement on Tuesday from the electronics manufacturer (via Reuters).
“Partnerships with technology-leading EV manufacturers such as Lucid are critical to our mission,” said Kazuo Tadanobu, head of Panasonic Energy.
Lucid plans to use Panasonic’s batteries in its long-range Lucid Air and its upcoming Gravity SUV, the latter of which will begin production in 2024.
In the third quarter, Lucid posted a $530 million loss, though it’s also worth noting that Tesla took around a decade before it became profitable as an auto company.
Lucid Motors Q3 2022: 2,282 Cars Produced, More than Triple Q2 https://t.co/tCE9a0qWUg
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) October 12, 2022
Currently, almost all of Panasonic’s EV batteries are destined for Tesla as the automaker scales production and expands globally.
Expanding partnerships is also expected to help stave off concerns about relying too heavily on a single customer for Panasonic, especially against the emerging EV market.
The Japanese company is also set to build a $4 billion EV battery plant in the U.S., likely in Oklahoma.
Panasonic also has EV battery lines at the site of Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada, and the company is planning to start producing next-generation 4680 battery cells for the EV pioneer as soon as 2023.
