Rising raw material prices causes a huge impact: Panasonic CEO

Rising commodity prices, including nickel and copper, have been exacerbated by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict like adding fuel to the fire, which has also hurt Panasonic, Panasonic Chief Executive Yuki Kusumi said on April 14. “Huge” impact, the company had to pass on some of the price increases to customers.

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Yuki Kusumi, chief executive of Panasonic, said: “Under our contracts, we are able to pass the cost on to some commercial customers, but there is a limit and it is more difficult to pass on higher prices to consumers.”

Moreover, Kusumi pointed out at the meeting that Panasonic is responding by improving manufacturing equipment to help absorb the additional costs, but these measures will not be enough to offset the sharp rise in raw material prices.

Panasonic last month laid out plans to develop technology that could cut the amount of nickel in pure electric vehicle batteries by half, targeting 2030. While ensuring battery performance, the nickel used in the positive electrode material is replaced by other elements. Reducing the use of rare metals such as nickel, which are only produced in a few countries, reduces the risk of getting into sourcing difficulties.

In the positive electrode material of the Panasonic electric vehicle battery, the content of nickel accounts for about 90%, and the rest is cobalt and aluminum. The cathode material controls the battery capacity, and a small amount of nickel is considered difficult to make a large-capacity battery.

Furthermore, the geopolitical situation affects the supply of nickel resources, and the market’s panic about nickel supply has become the support for price increases. Earlier, Panasonic released its third-quarter 2021 financial report showing that operating profit fell by 44%, partly due to rising material costs.

(via)