TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Panasonic Holdings and automaker Subaru are expected to announce plans for an electric vehicle battery partnership soon, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday, days before both will report first-quarter earnings.
Panasonic, which supplies almost all of its EV batteries to Tesla, is seeking to increase global market as Chinese and South Korean competitors grow their presence, the Nikkei said. It did not provide any source for its report.
The Nikkei said there was a possibility that Subaru may opt to use 4680 batteries, the newest cells championed by Tesla's chief executive, Elon Musk, for which Panasonic's energy unit is looking to increase production.
A Panasonic spokesperson said it was examining various growth strategies for its automotive business but there was no new information it could share.
A spokesperson for Subaru, which relies heavily on the North American market for its sales, declined to comment.
Panasonic will release first quarter earnings results on Monday, while Subaru will do so on Wednesday.
Panasonic's energy unit and Mazda Motor announced in June they also would start talks to set up a battery supply partnership for EVs.
Subaru said in May it was aiming for global sales of 200,000 battery-powered vehicles a year by around 2026 as it seeks to tap into the growing EV market.
(Reporting by Daniel Leussink and Kaori Kaneko; Edit by Tom Hogue, Robert Birsel)
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