| October 5, 2005 |
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd.
Toyota Motor Corporation |
|
| Capitalization of Panasonic EV Energy Co., Ltd. Increased |
Tokyo - TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC), along with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
and Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd. (collectively, the Matsushita Group), today announced that they
have increased capitalization of their jointly funded company, Panasonic EV Energy Co., Ltd. (PEVE), from two
billion yen to three billion yen. PEVE manufactures nickel metal hydride batteries for hybrid electric vehicles
(HEVs). Following this increased capitalization, the equity participation ratio by Toyota and the Matsushita
Group changes from 40/60 to 60/40.
Against the backdrop of increased environmental concern and the need to conserve natural resources, the HEV
market has reached a phase of peak growth. In order to accelerate the development of HEVs, it has become
necessary to develop comprehensive technologies that combine conventional batteries with onboard systems.
TMC and the Matsushita Group decided a restructuring of the capitalization ratio of PEVE was necessary to
ensure PEVE’s ability to respond to these needs and to allow it to take advantage of TMC’s and the Matsushita
Group’s technical expertise and marketing strength, enabling PEVE to continue its lead in the HEV battery market.
Outline of Panasonic EV Energy Co., Ltd.
| Company name |
Panasonic EV Energy Co., Ltd. |
| Date of establishment |
December 11, 1996 |
| Location |
Shizuoka, Japan |
| President |
Yuichi Fujii |
| Investment |
3 billion yen |
| Equity participation |
Toyota: 60%; Matsushita Group: 40% |
| Scale of operations |
27.4 billion yen (sales in FY2004) |
| Number of employees |
229 (as of the end of March 2005) |
| Description of business |
Development, manufacturing and sales of batteries for HEVs |
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