(Reuters) – Kazuhiro Tsuga, the outgoing Chief Executive of Panasonic Corp.
“At some point we have to move away from our one-legged approach to rely solely on Tesla,” Tsuga, who will step down as CEO after nine years as of April 1, told the paper in an interview.
“We are entering another phase and we need to keep an eye on whether we can supply manufacturers other than Tesla.”
The Japanese conglomerate announced in November that Tsuga would step down in April after nine years at the helm and that Yuki Kusumi, the head of his car company, would take over.
Under Tsuga’s leadership, Panasonic has shifted its focus from low-margin consumer electronics to batteries, factory machinery and components. The company said last month that it expects its battery company that supplies Tesla to be profitable this fiscal year.
Panasonic is partnering with Tesla in a $ 5 billion battery “gigafactory” near Reno, Nevada.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard