Panasonic in talks to set up battery manufacturing plant in India

Japanese electronics major, Panasonic is in talks with senior government officials in India to set up a battery manufacturing plant under the PLI scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell Production reported TOI.

The move has come after electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla announced its plans of entering the Indian market. Panasonic is one of the leading supplier for Tesla EVs. Panasonic's entry into Indian market hints at the battery makers ambitions to supply batteries not only to Tesla but also the growing Indian automobile market which is aggressively expanding their electric fleet in the country.

"A high-level delegation from Panasonic held talks with senior government functionaries of the government in the first week of this month," TOI said in a report.

Kazuo Tadanobu, the global president, and CEO of Panasonic Energy met former NITI Aayog CEO and G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, apart from heavy industries secretary Kamran Rizvi. Tadanobu was accompanied by Japanese officials from Panasonic Energy apart from Panasonic Life Solutions India chairman, Manish Sharma.

The report suggests, following the meeting between the two parties, Panasonic is now "coming close to making substantial investments" in India with setting up battery manufacturing plant in India.

In March 2022, the Indian Government selected four companies for INR 18,100 crore PLI for ACC battery storage. Among the selected companies, Hyundai Global Motors which was allotted 20 GWh capacity had pulled out of the scheme which may now be passed on to Panasonic if the Indian government reopens the window, the report stated.

However, for this to happen, it will need to be ratified at the highest level within the government.