1. Home
2. Supplier Database
3. Major Suppliers
4. Panasonic Corporation
5. Panasonic Corporation Business Report FY ended 2015

Recent Development Outside Japan

<U.S.>
-The Company announced that it has set up a new company on October 1, 2014, Panasonic Energy Corporation of North America (PENA), to produce and sell lithium-ion batteries for Tesla Motors in Sparks, Nevada, U.S. The new company is capitalized at USD 5 million (JPY 540 million) by Panasonic Corporation of North America.The new company will be based at the Tesla "Gigafactory", a large-scale battery manufacturing plant, the production base for lithium-ion battery cells, modules for EVs. Panasonic and other suppliers will produce battery products for Tesla at the Gigafactory. The Gigafactory is planned to annually produce battery cells that deliver 35-gigawatt (GW) of electricity per hour and battery packs that generate 50-GW of electricity per hour by the year 2020. The plant will recruit about 6500 employees by 2020. Tesla's all-new EV, the "Model 3", will be equipped with the lithim-ion battery from this factory, by dramatically reducing production cost of lithium-ion batteries.

<Spain>
-The Company announced that the Company and Ficosa International, S.A. (headquarters: Barcelona, Spain) have signed an agreement to enter into a capital and business alliance. Panasonic will acquire a 49% stake in the major Spanish auto parts supplier for JPY 20 billion to 30 billion. Ficosa generated EUR 925 million (JPY 130 billion) in sales in 2013, having about 20% share of the global car mirror market. The mirror supplier possesses advanced safety technologies such as blind spot detection systems that use cameras. Panasonic reportedly plans to combine its own technologies with Ficosa's expertise in image recognition and other areas with an eye toward integrating autos and information technologies and developing autonomous driving technologies.

Joint Ventures

<India>
-The Company announced that it will set up a joint venture with Minda Industries Ltd., an Indian auto parts supplier, in New Delhi, India in November 2014. The new company will develop, manufacture, and sell lead-acid storage batteries for motorcycles, automobiles, and uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) to meet growing demand in the country. Operation is scheduled to start as early as October 2015. The new company will be capitalized at INR 1.6 billion (approximately USD 25.9 million), of which 60% will be invested by Panasonic and 40% will be invested by Uno Minda. Production capacity is expected to reach 2 million units per year by 2018. The joint venture will allow Panasonic to expand its business in India, while helping Minda extend its lead-acid battery lineup.

Restructuring

<Europe>
-Panasonic Europe Ltd. has established a new company that integrated its group companies in Europe within the automotive and industrial sectors. On October 1, 2014, Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems Company Europe (PAISEU) was established by integrating the surviving company, Panasonic Automotive Systems Europe, as well as Sanyo Components Europe, Panasonic Industrial Devices Sales Europe and Panasonic Electric Works Europe. PAISEU will improve its business efficiency by integrating sales and technical support networks of the four companies. By doing so, it plans to double revenues by the fiscal year ending in March 2019 (FY2018) from the FY2013 level. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on October 7, 2014)

<Japan>
-Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems Company (AIS) announced that it will reorganize its manufacturing operations in Japan by March 2015. All functions of its Matsusaka Plant (Mie Prefecture) that manufactures speakers and automotive power supply modules will be transferred to the AIS headquarters in Kadoma (Osaka Prefecture), as well as to facilities in Tsuyama (Okayama Prefecture) and Motomiya (Fukushima Prefecture). When the transfer is completed, the Matsusaka Plant will cease operations and the employees of the plant will be reallocated to other facilities and group companies. AIS aims to improve business efficiency by integrating its production lines and eliminating functional overlaps among administration divisions. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on September 10, 2014)

Growth Strategies for Automotive Business

-Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems Company is planning to achieve JPY 2.1 trillion revenues from its major in-vehicle systems operations for the FY 2018 ending March 2019. The Company will strengthen its three business fields: infotainment including next-generation cockpits, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and battery and power supply systems. It intends to attain approximately 70% increase in revenues from FY 2014. In the in-vehicle comfort business segment, the Company will apply its technologies of home appliances, audio and visual equipment and mobile devices to enhance its infotainment systems. Specifically, Panasonic AIS will focus on new businesses including head-up displays based on the human-machine interface (HMI) display technologies and electric mirrors, jointly developed with Ficosa International S.A. of Spain. Panasonic and Ficosa have agreed on capital and business alliance in the electric mirror business. In the safety business segment, the Company will integrate sensing technologies for in-vehicle camera modules and ultrasonic sensor and image processing technologies to improve its ADAS business. Cooperation with other companies in expanding the business is also an option. In the environmental business segment, Panasonic AIS will take advantage of its wide-ranging battery technologies and power supply device technologies. Mass production of cylindrical lithium-ion batteries is slated to begin in 2016 at a new factory built within the Gigafactory of Tesla Motors of the U.S. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on June 12, 2015)

Contracts

-Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems Company (AIS) announced that its 12V energy recovery systems that utilize nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries are installed on the Nissan "Dayz Roox" and the Mitsubishi "eK Space" equipped with the engine stop-start system. The energy recovery device uses the same 12V system as the main lead-acid battery. This allows automakers to install the system on the conventional engine stop-start system without adding a transformer. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on February 14, 2014)

-Automotive & Industrial Systems Company (AIS) said that its upgraded "nanoe" devices have been chosen for the front automatic air conditioner of Toyota Motor Corporation's all-new "Noah" and "Voxy" minivans. AIS improved the efficiency of the discharger and the cooling mechanism, slashing the device's power consumption by 50% and weight by 30%. The amount of generated hydroxyl radicals has been increased by 1.5 times compared with the existing device. Working with the blower of the air conditioner, the "nanoe" device discharges "nanoe" particles from the air outlet of the air conditioner. The "nanoe" device is a standard feature of the "Noah's" G-grade and Hybrid G-grade, as well as "Voxy's" V-grade and Hybrid V-grade. AIS will supply a module consisting of a "nanoe" generating part, a drive circuit, a fan and a shielded board. The installed shielded board reduces noise when the "nanoe" device is operating. So far, AIS's "nanoe" devices have been installed on the air conditioner of Japanese automakers' 19 vehicle models. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on January 23, 2014)

>>>Financial Forecast for the Next Fiscal Year (Sales, Operating Income etc.)

-For FY ending March 2016, R&D Expenditure is planned to be JPY 470,000 million overall.

R&D Structure

-The Company is conducting R&D activities to develop new technology and new products designed for the future, further strengthening business divisions that have become stronger, based on the growth strategy implemented by each company.
-Conducting innovative R&D activities for mid-to-long-term growth in business areas new to the Company is the role of the new Advanced Research Headquarters.

<Automotive Systems>

Co-development

-The Company and Infineon Technologies AG of Germany have agreed to jointly develop Gallium nitride (GaN) power devices. The two companies will share their technologies to develop higher-performance power devices. This agreement will enable each company to manufacture and sell the power devices, and will accelerate the expansion of GaN power devices. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on March 11, 2015)

-The Company and Toyota Motor Corporation are jointly developing a cloud-based service that links cars with home appliances. The companies plan to release the new service in the second half of 2014, as part of their efforts to make mobility smarter, more convenient, and more comfortable. (From a press release on June 9, 2014)

Product Development

<Automotive & Industrial Systems>
-The Automotive & Industrial Systems Company develops multimedia products for automobiles, secondary batteries, electronic components and electronic materials.

World's smallest head-up display (HUD)
-The Company is applying the technological expertise in optics, which it gained from operating in the home-appliance industry, to automotive HUDs. By developing specially shaped mirrors, the Company created the world's smallest head-up display unit, which is capable of displaying navigational information without any distortion on the curved windshield.

New production technology for producing nano-fiber at room temperature
-The Company developed a new production method that goes one step further in creating nanofiber, based on its own, proprietary technology. Adding high-voltage to a polymer solution inside the fiber-spinning nozzle makes it possible to produce various types of high-polymer products at room temperature.

World's smallest low-loss silicon carbine (SiC) power module
-The Company developed the world's smallest SiC power module jointly with Sansha Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd., using the Company's SiC power-transistor technology and Sansha's expertise in production methods for power modules. This module is comprised of multiple SiC transistors. Compared to conventional products, this latest module is 1/3 smaller and reduces on-resistance, which is the cause of electricity conversion loss.

Wireless electric communication technology targeting high-speed multi-users
-The Company developed high-speed wireless technology that is compatible with 60GHz wireless LAN standards, making communication speeds of up to 2Gbps maximum possible and enabling large-size data (4K and 8K images) to be sent from and received by multiple terminals.

-For FY ended March 2015, major investment items of Automotive & Industrial Systems:

• Expanding production of secondary batteries
• Producing some new onboard-vehicle products, telematics and electronic components, and expanding their production volumes