Toyota, Matsushita Eye Additional Investment in Battery JV

Tokyo, May 23, 2008; JCN reported that Toyota Motor Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. plan to make an additional investment totaling 20 billion yen in a joint venture that makes batteries for vehicles, it was learned Friday.

The move is apparently intended to boost production of batteries for hybrid vehicles at the joint venture called Panasonic EV Energy Co., informed sources said.

Panasonic EV Energy, based in Kosai, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, is owned 60 pct by Toyota and 40 pct by Matsushita.

The joint company is set to increase production of nickel-metal hydride batteries while aiming to start mass production of next-generation lithium-ion batteries at an early date, the sources said.

Panasonic EV Energy may build a new battery plant in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, the sources added.

Toyota is aiming to boost is annual hybrid vehicle sales to one million units in the early 2010s.