Panasonic announced on Wednesday a delay in the commercial production of its 4680 battery cells, a key component in Tesla’s electric cars, pushing back the start of operations to between April and September 2024. This is a significant deviation from their earlier plan to initiate production between April 2023 and March 2024, reports Reuters.
The Japanese technology giant stated in its earnings presentation that the delay was necessary to “introduce performance improvement measures that will further enhance competitiveness.” This refers to measures aimed at enhancing the battery cells’ performance during the first half of the fiscal year ending in March 2025.
Panasonic is currently running a pilot production line for the 4680 battery cells at its factory in Wakayama, Japan. On the other hand, Tesla, which already produces these cells, has yet to scale up production of these batteries.
Drew Baglino, a Tesla executive, revealed in a recent conference call that the company plans to incrementally increase the production of 4680 battery cells in anticipation of the Cybertruck production next year. Currently, Tesla uses these cells in their base Model Y, produced at Giga Texas.
Tesla, which manufactures 4680 battery cells at its factories in California and Texas, reported that by the end of 2022, it was producing enough cells for over 1,000 cars per week. This equates to roughly one-fifth of the annual production capacity at its Texas factory.
Tesla’s South Korean supplier, LG Energy Solution, announced last month its plans to establish a new 4680 production line at its domestic factory by the end of this year. However, no specific timeline was provided regarding when the batteries would enter volume production.
Back in March, it was reported Tesla apparently added suppliers in China to fast-track its 4680 battery production. In January, Tesla announced an investment of $3.6 billion for Giga Nevada, to scale up 4680 battery cell production and also manufacturing of its Semi truck.
