Tesla Panasonic supplier pressed to increase the delivery of batteries made in the United States

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The Tesla, Panasonic battery provider is pressing to accelerate the supplies of their products made with the United States, according to the CEO of the Japanese company, in a sign that American protectionist measures have caused the batteries to make their less competitive Chinese rivals.

Yuki Kusumi said in an interview with Tokyo with foreign media that his main client, widely understood as Tesla, encouraged a faster start to his production New Kansas plant, most likely because Chinese drums They were less profitable to bring to the United States due to a combination of subsidies and rates.

“As our client has told us that Kansas moves quickly, we will have to do it,” Kusumi said. He stated that the client was thinking that replacing Chinese batteries with Panasonic manufactured in the United States would help their electric vehicles sold in the United States to qualify for significant tax credits to the consumer.

Under construction from 2022 and near the first production, Panasonic A de Soto, Kansas, will be its second battery place in the United States and will increase its 60 percent production capacity when it reaches mass production until March 2027.

Kusumi did not mention Tesla by name. However, Tesla has been the largest client in Panasonic, jointly establishing the Nevada Gigafactory who helped Elon Musk’s vehicle group to become a global EV leader.

The rush to bring to Kansas online controls delays and cancellations throughout the battery and EV plant sector in the face of slower sales growth of electric cars.

Honda announced on Tuesday a delay of at least two years to one Investment of Batteries of $ 11 Million In Canada, after a similar play from Toyota this year, while Nissan has left the plans for a battery plant in Japan.

Tesla previously sold a low -cost version of its 3 United States Model, which used a battery from China, but suspended it last year. The vehicle would not be described for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act, the package of industrial subsidies of the net Energy of the United States.

The Texas -based car manufacturer has tried mainly on batteries made in the United States for models sold in the United States, but does not completely reveal the origin of batteries for each variant of the model.

Kusumi emphasized the possible risks to the demand of the EVs sold by its main client in North America, citing that the vehicles of a certain cars have been burned down.

Tesla vehicles have been vandalized in the US In protest of the controversial leadership of Elon Musk of the Government Efficiency Department in the Trump administration. The consumer’s reaction led to the North -american vehicle maker in his worst quarter since 2022 in the first three months of this year.

“There are risks, but we are planning a robust demand for batteries from our main client from now on,” added Kusumi.

Punk has fallen Behind the Chinese and Koreans competitors after a great deal of Tesla during a nascent stage of the adoption of electric vehicles. He has descended from the main EV battery producer in the world in 2016 at number four.

The group’s position could be strengthened by the opening of a Japanese battery plant in Wakayama in September last year and the new Kansas factory, which has previously said that it would open in the spring of this year.

Kusumi refused to provide an exact calendar for the start of production, although he said that the company had an internal goal in mind.

Last week, Panasonic said he would reduce 10,000 jobs, equivalent to 4.3 percent of his workforce, as part of a long-awaited restructuring plan to focus on more profitable companies and consider withdrawing less profitable, including the television unit that made it a home name.