Panasonic Holdings will delay plans to bring its upcoming electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Kansas to full capacity by March 2027, due to a slowdown in sales at its primary customer, Tesla (TSLA.O), Japan’s Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.
The $4 billion facility, located in the U.S. state of Kansas, was initially slated to reach a production target of 30 gigawatt-hours by early 2027. According to the report, a new timeline for achieving full capacity has not yet been determined.
The Kansas site will be Panasonic’s second large-scale battery plant in the United States, following its Nevada Gigafactory built in partnership with Tesla. Mass production at the Kansas facility is still expected to begin soon, the Nikkei added.
Tesla has recently encountered several challenges, including the loss of U.S. electric vehicle tax credits, weaker demand due to a limited product lineup, and political tensions involving CEO Elon Musk. These factors have reportedly contributed to a broader deceleration in the company’s growth and purchasing forecasts, influencing supplier timelines.