Panasonic Corp will shift more of its output of lithium ion batteries to China from Japan,aiming to slash production costs and maintain its top share in the global market,the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday. Japanese makers led by Panasonic are battling South Korean makers such as LG Chem and Samsung SDI to win the biggest share of the market for lithium batteries used to power computers,mobile phones,hybrids,electric vehicles and other consumer products. Panasonic will invest 20 billion-30 billion yen ($244 million-$366 million) by the end of 2012 to build a new plant in China and to upgrade facilities,the Nikkei said without citing a source. Under the plan,it aims to cut manufacturing costs by 30 percent while boosting its share of output for the batteries in China to 50 percent by 2015,the Nikkei said. It currently makes 80-90 percent of its lithium ion batteries in Japan,and the rest in China. Panasonic plans to triple sales of the batteries,including those for cars,to 1 trillion yen by that time compared with levels in fiscal 2009/10,the Nikkei said. The company could not be reached for comment. Panasonic and its wholly owned subsidiary Sanyo Electric Co have a combined share of about 26 percent of the global market for lithium ion cells,according to research firm Techno Systems Research.
