During CES 2024, Panasonic Energy of North America’s president Allan Swan said the Japanese company is still planning to build a third electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in the United States.
According to Panasonic Energy’s president, the company needs more plants to increase its annual production capacity from 50 GWh to 200 GWh by 2031. Swan mentioned that Panasonic was considering a facility in the United States because it was “more incentivized in America than in Canada.”
As the new year rolled in, the Biden Administration stood firm on its goal to incentivize EV sales. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has already released the list of EVs eligible for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
More auto dealers are also signing up for the point-of-sale EV tax credits. Based on the growing number of dealerships signing up for the point-of-sale EV tax credits, electric vehicle sales are expected to improve, making domestic battery suppliers—like Panasonic—even more necessary.
Swan said that Panasonic Energy would probably wait to announce the location of its third EV battery plant. He hinted that the Japanese company would announce a new battery plant in the US by fiscal year 2024, which in Japan starts in April.
In December 2023, Panasonic released a public statement saying it would not “move forward with developing” a site EV battery plant in Oklahoma. However, Swan refuted the public statement during CES 2024.
“We are always looking [for a potential side. Oklahoma is still an option,” Swan stated.
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