Sluggish Tesla Sales Lead Panasonic to Delay Start of EV Battery Production at New U.S. Plant
Operations at the plant, located in Kansas, were originally scheduled to start at the end of fiscal 2026.
The global EV market is experiencing a slowdown in growth, leading to widespread revisions of production and investment plans.
Construction of the Kansas plant, which was built with an investment of about $4 billion (about ¥590 billion), began in autumn 2022 as Panasonic's second U.S. production site, after its Nevada facility.
Panasonic initially planned to reach full production of the plant, which has an annual production capacity of about 30 gigawatt-hours, by the end of fiscal 2026, but this has been changed to 'undecided.'
Tesla's global sales for the April-June period were 384,000 vehicles, down 13% from the same period last year, marking the second consecutive quarter of a two-digit decline. This is said to be due to the political remarks and actions of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump has soured.
The outlook for the overall EV market in the United States is uncertain. The Trump administration plans to abolish tax incentives for EVs at the end of September. The administration also plans to impose an additional 50% tariff on copper which is used in products such as EV motors, and the additional tariff could affect future market trends.
In response to this situation, Japanese automakers are also reviewing their production plans in North America.
Toyota Motor Corp. had planned to begin U.S. production of two new EV models by 2026 but has postponed the start of production for one of the models to 2028. Nissan Motor Co. has also delayed the start of production of new EVs in the United States.
Honda Motor Co. has postponed the start of operations at its new EV plant in Canada, originally set for 2028, to 2030 or later. The company had planned to invest ¥10 trillion by fiscal 2030 in global EV-related projects, including software development, but this was reduced this to ¥7 trillion.
In Japan, EV sales are stagnating due to high prices and a lack of charging facilities, leading automakers to review their EV strategies.
Nissan announced in May that it will abandon plans to build an EV battery plant in Kitakyushu. Toyota is working to reschedule the start of the operation of its battery plant yet to be constructed in Fukuoka Prefecture. The start was originally planned for 2028, but this will likely be delayed.
Panasonic is collaborating with Subaru Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. to establish new battery factories in Japan and expand production capacity. Depending on market conditions, the company may be forced to revise its domestic plans as well.
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