Panasonic in a jam as Tesla taps new battery supplies in China

EV batteries one of the few bright spots for the Japanese electronics maker

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A Tesla China-made Model 3 vehicle at factory in Shanghai. Panasonic will no longer be the sole supplier of batteries for the electric vehicle in China. © Reuters

ITSURO FUJINO, KANA WATANABE and TAKESHI SHIRAISHI, Nikkei staff writers

OSAKA/PALO ALTO -- A bright spot in Panasonic's otherwise disappointing earnings report this week was the improvement in its electric vehicle battery sales to Tesla. 

"During the third quarter [the EV battery business] has started to climb out of the red," Hirokazu Umeda, Panasonic's chief financial officer, told reporters.

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