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.
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.
In 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.
