Greater output: An Uber driver charges his Nissan Leaf EV in Paris. Envision AESC plans to increase its annual production capacity of batteries by building manufacturing plants in six countries, including France. — Bloomberg
TOKYO: A leading Japan-based automotive battery maker, Envision AESC, will increase its annual production capacity to 400 gigawatt-hours, about 20 times its current capacity, by 2026, building new plants in six countries.
Envision AESC chief executive officer Shoichi Matsumoto unveiled the plan in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture-based company currently supplies automotive batteries to leading carmakers, including Nissan Motor Co.
Against the backdrop of leading carmakers shifting their focus to electric vehicles (EVs), investment in automotive batteries is becoming increasingly active.
Envision AESC plans to increase its production capacity enough to supply batteries for 5.7 million to 6.7 million EVs, each of which requires a 60 to 70-kilowatt-hour battery, according to Matsumoto.
With its plan to build battery manufacturing plants in six countries, the company is expected to become Japan’s largest automotive battery manufacturer.
Two of the new plants will be in the United States and will supply Germany’s Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
The company also plans to build plants in China, the United Kingdom, France and Spain.
In Japan, a new plant is currently under construction in Ibaraki Prefecture with an investment of 50 billion yen (RM1.6bil).
The plant is expected to start mass production in the spring of 2024. The company also plans to supply its automotive batteries not only to Nissan but also to Honda Motor Co and Mazda Motor Corp.
The plant will produce a new type of automotive battery that will give vehicles greater range than conventional ones.
To enhance the production of EVs, countries that want a supply of domestically produced automotive batteries are paying close attention to how and where to secure this central component of EVs.
The US government offers tax incentives for EVs if a certain percentage of their battery parts are produced and assembled in North America.
Panasonic Holdings Corp has an 8.5% share of the global market for automotive batteries, the largest of any Japanese manufacturer, while Envision AESC’s share is less than 1%. — The Japan News/ANN
