Panasonic can speed up Tesla plant investment if needed
Japan's Panasonic Corp is ready to bring forward its investment in a Tesla battery plant it is helping establish if this is required to meet demand for the electric car maker's upcoming Model 3 sedan.
Panasonic plans to contribute $1.6 billion to Tesla's $5 billion "Gigafactory" in phases over the next few years. Production of the batteries is due to start later this year.
A faster ramp-up of the battery plant would be crucial as Tesla has said it would respond to brisk demand for the Model 3 by tooling up its factories to build 500,000 vehicles a year in 2018, two years earlier than planned.
Supplier executives and industry consultants have told Reuters that the acceleration in the plans to move up the launch of high-volume production of the Model 3 to 2018 would be difficult to achieve and potentially costly.
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