Sources say Panasonic will supply electric car batteries to Subaru to meet the challenges of Chinese and South Korean competitors

CTOnews.com, July 28, according to the Nikkei News, Panasonic Holdings and Japanese carmaker Subaru are expected to announce electric vehicle battery cooperation plans in the near future. Tesla, which supplies almost all of Panasonic's electric car batteries, is seeking to expand its customer base in the global market as competitors in China and South Korea are growing fast.

▲ Tuyuan Panasonic Energy website reported that Subaru may choose to use the 4680 battery produced by Panasonic Energy, the latest battery advocated by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Panasonic Energy is looking to increase the production of the battery.

A Panasonic spokesman said the company was studying various growth strategies for its automotive business, but had no new information to share. A spokesman for Subaru declined to comment, but reported that the company's car sales are heavily dependent on the North American market.

Panasonic will release results for the first quarter of the new fiscal year (April-June) next Monday, while Subaru will release results next Wednesday.

CTOnews.com previously reported that Panasonic and Mazda announced in June that they would start negotiations on battery supply for electric vehicles. Subaru said in May that it aims to sell 200000 electric vehicles a year in the global market by around 2026.