TOKYO—Panasonic Corp. said it has invested $30 million in electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc. in order to cement its relationship with a notable start-up in the fledgling electric-vehicle market and expand its own push into green energy businesses.
Panasonic, which currently supplies lithium-ion batteries for Tesla's automobiles, said it now holds around 2% of Tesla shares after purchasing the stock in a private placement at $21.15 per share. Tesla shares rose 52 cents to $21.77 in trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Rechargeable batteries for electric and hybrid cars are a main focus of Panasonic's efforts to create a stable of energy-related businesses, including solar panels and fuel cells. Last year, Panasonic acquired a majority stake in onetime rival and rechargeable-battery leader Sanyo Electric Co.
By strengthening their partnership, Panasonic and Tesla plan to jointly market and sell Tesla battery packs using Panasonic's battery cells. Several battery makers currently supply to Tesla, but the U.S. company has picked Panasonic as a preferred supplier of lithium-ion battery cells.
Tesla introduced its first car, the Roadster, in 2008, then a second version last year. It plans to introduce a Model S sedan in 2012, with the goal of producing about 20,000 cars a year.
As bullish growth forecasts predict a sharp increase in demand for lithium-ion batteries to be used in electric cars, auto makers and electronics companies are rushing to strike partnerships to develop and produce the batteries.
Sanyo is working on battery technology with a number of different auto makers including Honda Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG, while Panasonic only has a joint venture with Toyota Motor Co. and supplies Tesla.
Toyota, which invested $50 million in Tesla earlier this year, and Daimler AG are also shareholders in Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla.
Panasonic announced this summer it would raise its investment in Sanyo to a total of about 800 billion yen ($9.91 billion) to make the company a wholly-owned unit in order to speed up decision making and counteract the aggressive investments being made by South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co.
Panasonic's shift to energy-related businesses comes at a time when the company is struggling to recoup the heavy investments it made in flat-panel televisions, a business plagued by relentless declines in prices and fierce competition.
Write to Daisuke Wakabayashi at Daisuke.Wakabayashi@wsj.com and Juro Osawa at juro.osawa@dowjones.com |
