Tesla, BYD and now Panasonic want to Invest in India
Panasonic has informed the Indian government of its plans to consider the country for a battery manufacturing operation, under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell battery storage.
This news has come after a recent meeting between a high-level delegate from the Japanese company and senior members of the Indian government. Kazuo Tadanobu and other dignitaries accompanied the Japanese officials from Panasonic Energy.
It is expected that Panasonic’s potential plant would serve as a supplier of batteries to prominent Indian companies like Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, and the Volkswagen group, etc.
The move has come after electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla announced its plans of entering the Indian market. Panasonic is one of the biggest suppliers of batteries to Tesla. Its entry into the Indian market hints at its ambition to supply batteries not only to Tesla but also to the growing Indian automobile market.
The government has also briefed the Panasonic team about the bullish business potential in India for their batteries and said that it should readily invest in India, with or without Tesla’s investments.
In March 2022, the Indian Government selected four companies for Rs. 18,100 crore PLI for ACC battery storage. Among the selected companies, Hyundai Global Motors had pulled out of the scheme. This may now be passed on to Panasonic if the Indian government reopens the window, but would need to be ratified by the highest level of the government.
