(Reuters) – Panasonic Corp. CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga said the company would have to reduce its heavy reliance on Tesla Inc. by making batteries more compatible with electric vehicles from other global automakers, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
“At some point, we need to absolve ourselves of our one-sided approach of relying solely on Tesla,” he told Tsuga, who will step down after nine years as CEO on April 1.
“We are entering a different phase and we must be careful to supply manufacturers other than Tesla.”
The Japanese conglomerate announced in November that Tsuga would resign in April after nine years at the helm and that Yuki Kusumi, the head of his car business, would take over.
Under Tsuga’s leadership, Panasonic has shifted its focus from low-margin consumer electronics to batteries, factory cars and components. The company said last month that it expects its Tesla supply business to be profitable this fiscal year.
Panasonic has partnered with Tesla in a $ 5 billion “gigafactory” battery near Reno, Nevada.
Report by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Mountainous of William Mallard