Mazda Motor and Panasonic’s energy unit would start talks to set up battery supply for electric vehicles (EVs), the companies told Reuters.
Such an effort on lithium-ion batteries was likely to carry Mazda a step closer to ramping up production of EVs, in a JPY1.5trillion (US$10.6bn) spending plan unveiled in November to drive electrification, the report said.
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Panasonic Energy would supply Mazda with automotive cylindrical lithium-ion batteries made in Japan and North America for EVs expected to be launched in the latter half of this decade, the companies said in a statement.
A Mazda spokesperson declined to tell Reuters exactly what battery cells the automaker was planning to use in its EVs, adding that it would hold talks to secure supply from 2025-2027 onwards or later.
Mazda has identified those years as the second phase of a three-phase plan, saying in November it would introduce battery EV models in the latter half of that period, the news agency noted.
The companies said their talks would focus on a partnership for the medium to long term.
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By GlobalDataIn 2012, Mazda used 1865 battery cells supplied by Panasonic in its Demio EV in Japan, leasing out 100 units of the subcompact as a trial for boosting knowledge about electrification, the spokesperson told Reuters.
