K-Battery Shaken... "BMW and Stellantis Partner with Japan's Panasonic for Batteries"

European and American automakers have teamed up with Japan's Panasonic to establish a new electric vehicle battery factory in North America. With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) aiming to reduce reliance on China, Japan, the battery powerhouse, is rapidly emerging in the U.S. electric vehicle battery market, while China is also finding workarounds to regain its dominance, intensifying competition with Korean batteries (K-battery).

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 4th (local time), citing sources, that Germany's BMW and U.S. Stellantis are negotiating with Japan's Panasonic to build an electric vehicle battery factory in North America. Peter Lamp, BMW's head of battery technology, stated, "The company is in talks with potential suppliers to build additional battery factories." However, he did not directly name the suppliers involved in the discussions.

BMW has built a strong partnership with Chinese battery manufacturers. However, as the IRA restricts Chinese battery manufacturers' business activities in the U.S., BMW is said to have shifted its focus to Japan's Panasonic to diversify risks. Previously, BMW designated China's CATL and Eve Energy as electric vehicle battery suppliers and announced a supply contract worth 1 billion euros to build two new factories in China and Europe.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Stellantis, which has formed a strong alliance with K-battery, has also selected Panasonic as a new partner. Stellantis has previously established joint ventures with LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI to build battery factories in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and Indiana, U.S., targeting production between 2024 and 2025.

Sources said Stellantis is in talks with Panasonic as a third factory partner, but the discussions are in the early stages, with unresolved issues remaining, making the situation fluid.

Regarding this, a Panasonic spokesperson commented, "We are reviewing various growth strategies for the electric vehicle battery business, but currently, there is no additional information to share beyond what has already been announced." Stellantis, formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Peugeot Citro?n (PSA), has 14 automotive brands under its umbrella, including Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, and Peugeot.

According to market research firm SNE Research, Panasonic's global market share for electric vehicle batteries stood at 7% as of the end of last year, competing in a four-way battle with China's CATL, LG Energy Solution, and China's BYD.

[Image source=UPI Yonhap News]

Panasonic is a leading player in cylindrical batteries, considered next-generation batteries, focusing its manufacturing capacity on the '4680 battery.' The 4680 battery is a cylindrical battery with a diameter of 46 mm and a length of 80 mm, doubling the size and capacity of batteries previously used mainly in electronic devices such as laptops. It is evaluated as a next-generation battery that increases energy density by five times compared to existing cylindrical batteries while enabling mass production at lower costs compared to pouch and prismatic batteries.

WSJ reported that BMW and Stellantis are showing interest in Panasonic's cylindrical batteries. BMW announced during its quarterly earnings conference call that it would use cylindrical batteries instead of the previously used prismatic batteries in electric vehicle models launching from 2025.

Panasonic was Tesla's main battery supplier in its early days. However, as Tesla expanded its supply base to other Asian companies in China and South Korea, reducing Panasonic's volume, Panasonic is broadening its customer base to other U.S. electric vehicle companies such as Lucid.

Chinese companies finding workarounds to the IRA and expanding their market dominance in the U.S. also pose dual pressure on K-battery. China's CATL is preparing to build a factory in Marshall, Michigan, in partnership with Ford. To circumvent the IRA, Ford plans to own 100% of the factory shares while CATL provides battery cell technology.

China's BYD is promoting its new technology, the 'Blade Battery,' to secure a competitive edge in the Korea-China-Japan battery rivalry. The Blade Battery, developed by BYD, is designed to be thinner and longer, inserted into the battery pack like a blade. BYD aims to penetrate the affordable electric vehicle market with the Blade Battery, which maximizes space utilization and energy density, WSJ reported.

Ram Chandrasekaran, an analyst at global consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, forecasted, "Global automakers are highly likely to consider equipping affordable electric vehicles with BYD's Blade Battery."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.