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