an opportunity has arrived? many established japanese companies are entering the fields where chinese companies are leading
2024-09-17
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many established japanese companies are entering the electric vehicle market
panasonic holdings held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new pure electric vehicle battery factory in kinokawa city, wakayama prefecture on the 9th of this month. panasonic invested about 70 billion yen (about 3.5 billion yuan) to transform the factory to produce components for on-board batteries, which will be supplied to the american electric car giant tesla. mass production will begin after the final evaluation of the new battery is completed. the factory will also be responsible for teaching the mass production technology of the new battery to the american electric car factory. also recently, according to a report by kyodo news, japan's sharp corporation revealed that it will officially launch a pure electric vehicle business and hopes to make it a "new pillar of revenue."
panasonic's new battery is cylindrical, the same as ordinary dry batteries, with a diameter of 46 mm and a length of 80 mm, and is called "4680". since its capacity is five times that of the traditional "2170" model, the number of batteries carried in electric vehicles can be reduced to a few hundred. taking the battery used in tesla's popular car "model y" as an example, using 2170 requires connecting about 4,000 cylindrical batteries, while 4680 only requires about 800. generally, the welding costs of connecting cylindrical batteries are borne by car companies. fewer welding times means fewer assembly processes and fewer people required, which can cut costs and help pure electric vehicles reduce prices. in addition, since there are gaps when the batteries are arranged, it also has superior cooling performance.
as competition between chinese and south korean companies becomes increasingly fierce, panasonic hopes to differentiate itself through new batteries and seize new market demand.
on the other hand, the current global demand for electric vehicles is slowing down, and some automakers have already lowered their production plans. panasonic energy said: "in the medium and long term, market expansion is an inevitable trend. the results of the technological innovation of the wakayama plant will surely benefit other plants."
if the wakayama plant establishes mass production technology, it will gain an advantage in the competition for orders. major european automakers are considering adopting the 4680, which will help panasonic catch up with china's contemporary amperex technology co., ltd. (catl)'s leading market position.
as a long-established electronics company, sharp announced in may this year a structural reform of its "equipment business" including lcds. the sakai plant, which produces large-size lcd panels for tvs, stopped production in august, and the company needs to come up with a route to profitability as soon as possible. sharp chief technology officer mototaka taneya said on september 6: "the company is discussing entering the pure electric vehicle (ev) business within a few years." taneya mentioned that he does not rule out the possibility of cooperating with parent company taiwan hon hai precision industry to develop under the sharp brand.
sharp's confidence in entering the electric vehicle market at this time comes from its sources. chen yan, director of the japan enterprise (china) research institute, told the global times that sharp currently has a certain accumulation in the fields of electronic control components and batteries. with the continuous development of electric vehicle battery technology, sharp's competitiveness will gradually emerge. in addition, sharp will also receive considerable subsidies from the japanese government. however, chen yan also added that the effect of the parent company hon hai precision industry's help to sharp remains to be seen, and previously it did not play a big role in helping sharp's lcd tv product line.
since last year, sharp has held the technology exhibition event "sharp tech-day" with the goal of achieving a more comfortable life in the future. this year's event will be held from september 17 to 18, focusing on sharp's solutions in the fields of artificial intelligence, green energy, and communications. sharp's first electric vehicle concept car will also be unveiled at the event.
the "ldk+" on display this time is a new ev concept car designed based on hon hai's ev platform. it was produced with the assistance of ev startup folofly, and the rear seats will be equipped with lcd screens manufactured by sharp.
global times special correspondent in japan pan xiaoduo and xiao zhendong
