Subaru Corporation and Panasonic Energy have jointly announced their commencement of talks aimed at establishing a medium- to long-term partnership to address the rising demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and automotive batteries in the expanding market.

The potential partnership involves discussions focused on Panasonic Energy's supply of next-generation automotive cylindrical lithium-ion batteries to Subaru.

In turn, Subaru would consider the integration of these batteries into its BEVs, scheduled for production at various sites, including a dedicated BEV plant in Gunma, Japan, expected to be operational from the latter half of the 2020s.

Subaru is currently expediting its electrification efforts and other initiatives through a roadmap extending to 2050, with a key objective of contributing to the realisation of a carbon-neutral society. 

Panasonic Energy aims to support this ambition by providing its high-quality and high-performance cylindrical lithium-ion batteries, which are deployed in certain Tesla models.

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If the partnership is established, both Subaru and Panasonic Energy anticipate contributing to the development of the automotive and battery industries while addressing social issues such as local employment maintenance and human resource development.

The discussions are still in their early stages, and further updates will be provided as developments unfold. Currently, Subaru's only EV is the Solterra, twin to the Toyota bZ4X.

Also read: Not the MX-30, Mazda to launch a new BEV after 2025, may use Panasonic cylindrical batteries