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Toyota and Panasonic link up on electric vehicle batteries

Ben Geman, author of Generate

President of Toyota Motor Akio Toyoda (L) and President of Panasonic Kazuhiro Tsuga (R). Photo: Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images

Toyota and Panasonic announced Tuesday that they've inked a deal for establishing a joint venture to develop electric vehicle batteries.

Why it matters: It's the latest sign of companies in the automotive and battery space pooling resources to get ahead in the increasingly competitive EV market.

  • "The business environment is one in which independent efforts by battery manufacturers or automobile manufacturers are not enough for solving the issues concerned," the companies said in a joint statement.

The intrigue: Via the Associated Press, "Toyota, Japan's No. 1 automaker, is thought to have fallen behind rival Nissan Motor Co. in pioneering electric vehicles, and has been trying to catch up in recent years."

Where it stands: The corporate giants, which did not disclose investment amounts, said they're setting up a JV by the end of next year with a 51% stake for Toyota and 49% for Panasonic. They added...

  • It will cover R&D, product engineering, manufacturing, and more.
  • It will explore both advances in existing technology as well as development of solid-state and "next generation" tech.
  • Products developed through the venture will likely be sold to "various automakers" through Panasonic.

Of note: As Reuters points out here, the JV builds on a partnership the companies first established in late 2017.

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell attend a joint session of Congress. Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has abandoned his demand that Democrats state, in writing, that they would not abandon the legislative filibuster.

Between the lines: McConnell was never going to agree to a 50-50 power sharing deal without putting up a fight over keeping the 60-vote threshold. But the minority leader ultimately caved after it became clear that delaying the organizing resolution was no longer feasible.

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Why it matters: Several major businesses paused or pulled political donations following the events of Jan. 6, when pro-Trump rioters, riled up by former President Trump, stormed the Capitol on the day it was to certify the election results.

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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

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