Panasonic To Boost Lithium Ion Battery Output In China

OSAKA (Nikkei)--In a bid to maintain its leading share of the global market for lithium ion batteries, the Panasonic Corp. (6752) group will overhaul its production structure by ramping up output in lower-cost China to shave manufacturing expenses as much as 30%.

Japanese companies once enjoyed an edge in development and mass production of these batteries, which are used to power mobile phones, laptop computers and other products. But with South Korean rivals now quickly catching up, Panasonic has decided to rely more on Chinese production as a way to stay on top.

Panasonic and Sanyo Electric Co., which became a 100% unit on April 1, had a combined 26% share of the worldwide lithium ion battery market in 2010. Panasonic plans to invest 20-30 billion yen through 2012 to lift Chinese output by constructing a new plant and upgrading existing facilities there.

The group's output capacity of lithium ion batteries now reaches a monthly 120 million units, of which 80-90% are produced in Japan and the rest in China. Panasonic hopes to lift China's share to around 50% by 2015. It aims to roughly triple sales of lithium ion batteries, including those for automobiles, from the fiscal 2009 level to 1 trillion yen.

It will spend at least 10 billion yen to build a new factory around 2012 next to existing Sanyo facilities in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Panasonic will invest another 5 billion yen or so to upgrade a Sanyo plant in Beijing.

Manufacturing facilities at a domestic Sanyo factory in Hyogo Prefecture -- which ended lithium ion battery production in March -- will be transferred to the existing Suzhou and Beijing plants.

Because of intensifying price competition that has eroded profitability, Sanyo and Panasonic both incurred operating losses in their lithium ion battery operations for the October-December period of 2010.

The Panasonic group, however, will continue to pursue domestic output of lithium ion batteries used for automotive and power storage applications, segments that are expected to grow.

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