Tesla supplier Panasonic Energy: cutting China supply ‘No.1 objective’ for U.S

By Abhirup Roy

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Tesla (NASDAQ:) supplier Panasonic (OTC:) Energy plans to eliminate its supply-chain dependence on China for electric vehicle batteries made in the United States, a senior executive told Reuters, calling the shift a “No.1 objective”.

The comments from Allan Swan, President of Panasonic Energy of North America, highlight how incoming President Donald Trump’s pledge to raise tariff imports on Chinese goods has forced companies around the world to reassess their manufacturing processes.

Panasonic Energy, which supplies batteries to Tesla as well as other automakers, is a unit of Japanese electronics giant Panasonic.

The first thing the business has to do in regards to Trump tariffs is “not to have the supply chain dedicated from China,” Swan told Reuters in an interview in Las Vegas on Monday at the CES trade show.

In the United States, Panasonic Energy operates a plant in Nevada and plans to open a second U.S. factory in Kansas this year.