Tesla’s Long-Time Partner Panasonic Building $4 Billion EV Battery Plant In Kansas

A $4 billion battery plant in Kansas will be built by Panasonic, the main battery manufacturer and a key investor in the company.

According to Panasonic Energy, a unit of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic, the production facility will be located in De Soto, a Kansas City suburb, and will eventually employ up to 4,000 people. One of the largest battery plants in the US will be built in Kansas.

Kelly said that the project would provide in total 8000 high-quality jobs.

According to media reports, Kansas and Oklahoma were the top candidates for a major new U.S. production facility this year, but Panasonic didn't choose them. More than 6 billion EV battery cells have been supplied by Panasonic's US assembly lines.

Large investments in new U.S. battery and electric vehicle plants have preceded the announcement. The news in January of a $2.6 billion battery plant in Michigan was followed in May by the announcement of a $5.5 billion electric vehicle plant in Georgia.

Plans to invest more than $11 billion in battery production facilities in Kentucky and Tennessee were announced last September.

Despite high prices, electric vehicle sales in the U.S. are growing quickly. WhileTesla remains the volume leader, other manufacturers are ramping up production of electric vehicles. According to the forecaster, sales of battery-only vehicles will reach about 700,000 this year and 2.5 million by the end of the decade.

The companies will continue to work together despite Panasonic selling its remaining stake in the company.