Outgoing CEO Says Panasonic Must Reduce Dependence on Tesla as Battery Lock Evolves: FT

(Reuters) – Outgoing Panasonic Corp CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga has said the company will need to reduce its heavy reliance on Tesla Inc by making batteries more compatible with electric vehicles from other global automakers, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. .

“At some point we have to abandon our one-sided approach of relying only on Tesla,” Tsuga, who will step down after nine years as CEO from April 1, told the newspaper in an interview.

“We are entering a different phase and we need to keep an eye on sourcing from manufacturers other than Tesla.”

The Japanese conglomerate announced in November that Tsuga would step down in April after nine years at the helm and that Yuki Kusumi, the head of its automotive business, would take over.

Under Tsuga’s leadership, Panasonic shifted its focus from low-margin consumer electronics to batteries, factory machines and components. The company said last month that it expects its business of supplying batteries to Tesla to be profitable this fiscal year.

Panasonic has partnered with Tesla in a $ 5 billion battery “gigafactory” near Reno, Nevada.