Panasonic plans to build EV battery plants in Oklahoma

Panasonic Holdings, a battery supplier to Tesla Inc, said it is considering building its third plant in the United States in Oklahoma.

"Panasonic has entered into an agreement with the State of Oklahoma that defines the eligibility and terms of the incentives under Oklahoma's LEAD Act," the company said in an email, referring to an incentive package the state has established to attract major companies to its MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor.

"There are no other specific decisions that have been made by the Company. We will share more information as it is available," the statement said.

Besides Tesla, other EV makers are looking to Panasonic as a possible battery supplier, as reported earlier by Kyodo news agency. Panasonic's decision comes amid surging sales for electric vehicles.

Panasonic is in talks with other Stellantis and BMW about building a new EV plant in North America, the Wall Street journal reported this month.

Tesla's second battery plant will be built in Kansas rather than Oklahoma, a decision made in July by the Japanese company. Up to 4,000 jobs would be created by investments of up to $4 billion, state officials said.