Stellantis (STLA) and BMW in talks with Panasonic to build battery plants
The Wall Street Journal reports Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) and BMW are in talks with Panasonic about teaming up to build electric vehicle battery plants in North America.
Stellantis, the world's third-largest automotive group by sales, has already announced two EV battery plants in North America - one with LG Energy Solution Ltd in Canada and another in Indiana with Samsung SDI Co.
Panasonic is a major provider of cylindrical battery cells used by Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). The decision by Stellantis and BMW to use cylindrical batteries could tip the scales as other legacy automakers consider using rectangular pouch or prismatic shapes for their EV batteries.
"We are examining various growth strategies for our automotive battery business, but there is no further information that we can share at the moment aside from what we have already announced," a Panasonic spokesperson said in an emailed response.
BMW has said previously that it plans to build six new EV battery plants in Europe, China and the North America free-trade area that includes the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Shares of STLA are down 1.02% near end of day trading on Tuesday.
By Michael Elkins | [email protected]