松下向特斯拉电池厂投资16亿美元

导读：松下社长津贺一宏最近表示，公司将投资最多16亿美元用于建设特斯拉的电池厂，希望以此巩固公司未来在汽车电子市场的业务。松下已经与特斯拉达成合作，共同出资50亿美元在美国内华达州建设电池厂。松下之前没有披露具体的投资金额。工厂完全上线还需要几年时间，对于松下来说等待的成本是高昂的，因为它的电池业务难以盈利。

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Throughout its project to build a massive battery "Gigafactory" near Reno, Nevada, Tesla has had assistance from its current battery supplier, Panasonic.

The Japanese electronics company has agreed to help fund the project, and will use its technical resources to help set up and run the factory.

Panasonic hasn't previously disclosed the amount it plans to invest in the $5 billion project, which will provide the economy of scale to lower the prices of Tesla electric cars.

Now, the company--which also owns a small stake in Tesla--says it will spend up to $1.6 billion on the Gigafactory.

That estimate came from Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga, speaking to MarketWatch at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Panasonic's continued involvement in the Gigafactory project is reportedly part of plan to grow the company's presence in the automotive sector.

Tesla Motors - Model S lithium-ion battery pack

Sales to carmakers accounted for about 15 percent of Panasonic's revenue in 2015, but the total revenue is expected to double over the next four years, representing 25 percent of the total.

At the same time, though, Panasonic faces stiffer competition from Korean battery suppliers Samsung SDI and LG Chem.

The latter will supply battery cells and many other components for the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV as part of a far-reaching partnership with General Motors.

The $1.6 billion investment Panasonic revealed at CES is significantly higher than the $92 million it had previously discussed.

Employees from the Japanese company were expected to arrive in Nevada at the end of last year to prepare for the start of cell production.

According to previously-released terms, about half of the Gigafactory is to be devoted to cell production supervised by Panasonic. The other half will be occupied by suppliers and assembly lines for cell modules and battery packs.