Finance Associated Press on March 7 (edited by Zhou Ziyi).Japanese auto giant Toyota announced on Tuesday (March 5) a strategic move on the transition to electric vehicles, acquiring all shares of Primearth EV Energy, a battery joint venture with Panasonic Holdings, to achieve full control of the latter's company.
PrimEarth EV Energy is a battery joint venture jointly owned by Toyota Motor Corporation and Panasonic Holdings, established in 1996 with Panasonic holding 60% and Toyota holding 40%. Due to Panasonic's high shareholding ratio, the company's name at that time was Panasonic EV Energy.
As Toyota gradually increased its controlling stake, the name of the joint venture was changed from Panasonic EV Energy to PrimEarth EV Energy. At present, the shareholding ratio of the two parties is: Toyota holds 805%, while Panasonic holds 195%。
According to Toyota's latest strategy, it will acquire the remaining 195% stake, the acquisition is expected to close by the end of March. This means,Primearth will then become a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota.
This bold move highlights Toyota's commitment to the production of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and marks a major shift towards sustainable vehicle solutions.
Strategic acquisitions
Primearth EV Energy has been playing an important role in the development and production of batteries for hybrid electric vehicles. On top of this, the company also plans to start production of batteries for electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Toyota Motor said the company's move to acquire a controlling stake in PrimEarth EV Energy would be a decisive step for Toyota to consolidate its position in the electric vehicle segment.
The full takeover of Primearth EV Energy also means a strategic expansion of Toyota's EV ecosystemThis not only ensures the stability of high-quality batteries**, but also increases its ability to innovate and adapt in the fast-growing electric vehicle market.
Over the past few years, Toyota has focused on a path for hybrid technology, and while analysts and investors have complained that the company has failed to ride the electrification wave, the route has ultimately proven reasonable. Its hybrid vehicles (HVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) are very popular, and Toyota's global new car sales in 2023 increased by 7% to 11.23 million units, continuing to rank first in the world.
The acquisition shows that Toyota will expand on its past path and adopt a broader strategy to lead the transition to electric vehiclesEmphasizing the importance of battery technology in the future automotive manufacturing industry.