Sanyo Aims to Slash Lithium-Ion Car-Battery Costs
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Sanyo Electric Co., the world’s biggest maker of rechargeable batteries, said it plans to slash the cost of manufacturing lithium-ion batteries used in cars to less than half the current industry average in five years.
The company plans to lower the cost to less than 50 yen per watt hour in 2015, compared with the industry average of about 100 yen now, Hiroshi Ikeuchi, an executive officer for Sanyo’s hybrid electric vehicle division, told reporters at a new battery plant in Kasai city, near Osaka. He declined to specify Sanyo’s current manufacturing cost.