Company Panasonic, Japan's largest electronics manufacturer, announced an investment in an electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors. The amount of invested funds amounted to 30 million US dollars.
Panasonic, which supplied batteries and other components for Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer, now owns 2% shares in the company.
Previously, two other partners have already invested in the company: Toyota и Daimler, together with Tesla Motors these companies are working on electric versions of their products - Toyota RAV4 and Smart Fortwo, respectively.
Tesla и Panasonic carry out developments in the field of lithium-ion batteries, components Panasonic presumably used when creating a new model from Tesla – Model S. With this deal Panasonic is making a move to shift its focus away from consumer electronics to the new electric vehicle market. The total volume of investments in this area is planned to be increased to 1 billion US dollars.