Panasonic Targets Tech for Self-Driving Cars

Japan’s Panasonic Corp. wants to continue to grow its automotive business, including venturing into emerging autonomous vehicle systems with partner Tesla Motors Inc.

Panasonic currently supplies lithium-ion battery systems for Tesla's electric vehicles and is partnering with the carmaker on a battery “gigafactory” in Nevada. Panasonic also is investing more than 30 billion yen ($260 million) to help build a solar panel plant in Buffalo, N.Y., that will be operated by Tesla’s SolarCity unit.

Now the supplier is looking at how it can contribute to Tesla’s self-driving-car technology. This could include jointly developing sensors and other high-tech devices, CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga tells Reuters.

Tsuga says one potential application for autonomous vehicles is the organic complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor chips Panasonic is developing. The technology promises to enable high-speed sensing of moving objects without distortion.

Panasonic previously has said it is targeting annual sales of 2 trillion yen ($17 billion) for its automotive business for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019. The business totaled 1.3 trillion yen in the most recent fiscal year.

In addition to batteries, Panasonic’s auto unit supplies cockpit displays and navigation systems. The company also is developing a high-strength compound for automotive laser welding applications.