Subaru breaks bonds over batteries
Subaru, has been getting pretty cozy with its Prius-building partner of late, but when it comes to hooking up with a battery supplier for its own green automotive solution, the R1e, the car maker might be singing a different tune. Namely, 'Don't Fence Me In." During a recent vehicle launch, Fuji Heavy Industry's president, Ikuo Mori, made his opinion on the subject clear: "It's not necessary to stick to Toyota and Panasonic. We want to procure (batteries) from whoever can offer reasonable prices with good quality," he said to Dow Jones newswires. In any case, although their immediate needs should be quite modest, Toyota might not have a lot of spare capacity for Subaru anyway.
We're not sure if they have their roaming eye on a particular provider yet though there are some interesting players out there. It could just be they have their battery questions already answered but are trying not to tip their hand. As usual, we'll let you know if they're holding aces or jokers.
[Source: Just-Auto]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TheRookie 2:46PM (6/18/2008)
But isn't Toyota own 16.5% of Fuji Heavy Industries anyway?
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Domenick Yoney 2:53PM (6/18/2008)
@TheRookie:
8.7 per cent according to Just-Auto. That's sort of the point. One might expect them to get their batteries from the Toyota-Panasonic JV but they want to shop around.
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TheRookie 4:57PM (6/18/2008)
I am not sure if Japanese Fair Trade Commission approved the deal but Fuji announced sale of shares to TMC in April 2008. According to them, "Following this transfer, TMC would own 16.5% of FHI issued shares."
http://www.fhi.co.jp/english/news/press/2008/08_04_10e-1.html
So while this is hardly controlling stake, I doubt that Fuji's decision could be made without full consent from TMC side. To speculate, I think that the following variants are possible:
1. TMC/Panasonic got no spare capacity even for small-scale project, such as R1e.
2. They (Fuji/TMC) want to try other sources for TMC without compromising TMC/Panasonic relationship.
3. This is a "ping the competition" game - to see what is really going on with EV batteries market.
Overall, this is a very interesting development.
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stevefazek 7:06PM (6/18/2008)
Gm sold their stake in Subaru to Toyota if i recall.
Wasnt it so they could trade hybrid technology for AWD?
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