(Reuters) – Kazuhiro Tsuga, CEO of Panasonic Corp., said the company needs to reduce its reliance on Tesla Inc by making batteries more compatible with electric vehicles from other global carmakers, the Financial Times reported. reported on Sunday.
“At some point, we must graduate from our one-legged approach of relying solely on Tesla,” Tsuga, who will retire after nine years as CEO from April 1, told the paper. -news in interview.
“We are entering a different phase and we need to keep an eye on the supply of manufacturers in addition to Tesla.”
The Japanese conglomerate announced in November that Tsuga would resign in April after nine years at the helm and that Yuki Kusumi, the head of his automotive business, would take over.
Under Tsuga’s leadership, Panasonic has shifted the focus away from low-margin consumer electronics to batteries, factory equipment and components. The company said last month that it expects its battery business to supply Tesla to be profitable this year.
Panasonic has partnered with Tesla in a $ 5 billion “gigafactory” battery near Reno, Nevada.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Edited by William Mallard