Panasonic Looks to Expand Into EV Batteries

The company that makes your plasma TV wants to get in on the ground floor of building the battery for your future car as well. Panasonic is making serious overtures that it will buy Sanyo, another Japanese electronics company.

What does Sanyo have that Panasonic doesn’t? A robust operation that builds car batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles. As those vehicles become more popular in the coming years, Panasonic sees an opportunity to deploy technology crucial to those cars.

Panasonic already has a car battery venture with Toyota, but Sanyo builds nickel-metal hydride batteries for Ford and Honda, and it’s developing lithium-ion batteries for Volkswagen. Analysts predict the purchase of Sanyo would cost Panasonic roughly $8.7 billion.

If the deal goes through, there’s a good chance the next car you buy with electric or hybrid technology will get its power from a Panasonic battery. The company also has its eye on the burgeoning solar cell industry and believes acquiring Sanyo could help it build cost-effective solar cells.

Panasonic Eyes Sanyo; Bets on Solar Power, Hybrid Cars (Reuters)