Panasonic plans to add two production lines of 4680 batteries at the Wakayama plant or achieve mass production by 2024.

The 4680 battery has been highly anticipated since its debut. In February, Hirokazu Umeda, Panasonic's chief financial officer, said at the earnings conference that they were revamping some facilities and expected to start trial production of 4680 electric vehicle batteries at an undisclosed location in Japan at the beginning of April.

Panasonic's energy company will build a new production facility at its Wakayama plant in western Japan to produce new 4680 lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles to expand its global business, Panasonic's official website announced.

According to reports, in order to promote the rapid popularity of electric vehicles, Panasonic has been committed to enhancing its automotive lithium-ion battery series. Panasonic is currently developing 4680 batteries in several locations in Japan. With the improvement of the structure, the company will build two additional production lines and utilities at the Wakayama plant, and productivity verification and mass production will begin in the fiscal year ending in March 2024.

It is understood that the Tesla 4680 battery was first unveiled on the "Battery Day" in September 2020. Tesla said that the battery has a height of 80mm, a diameter of 46mm, a five-fold increase in energy density, a six-fold increase in power output and a 16% increase in mileage.

It is worth noting that Panasonic is a long-term battery supplier to Tesla, and Umeda also mentioned: "Tesla has a very strong demand for 4680, so when we are really able to deliver 4680, we plan to give priority to Tesla."

In addition to Panasonic, according to foreign media reports, South Korean battery giants Samsung SDI and LG New Energy have also completed the development of 4680 battery core samples.

While foreign manufacturers are stepping up their layout, domestic battery manufacturers such as Yiwei Lithium Energy and Bick batteries are also accelerating the construction of 4680 battery production lines.

On Feb. 21, investors consulted on the interactive platform on whether the 4680 project could be put into production this year. Yiwei LiNeng said that the company's large cylindrical battery project for passenger cars is proceeding as planned. According to previous public information, the company has completed the strategic layout of large cylindrical batteries, including 4680 and 4695 models, and is expected to release 20GWH in 2023 and reach 40GWh in 2024.

At the beginning of 2021, Bick battery achieved the domestic debut of 4680 all-polar ear large cylindrical battery. In December of the same year, Bick battery-related sources told Battery Network that the company, which focuses on 18650 and 21700, is developing 4680 and exploring its application in the field of small power subdivision.