NAGOYA, Japan -- Toyota Motor is using Panasonic batteries designed for Tesla electric cars in its own plug-in hybrids for the Chinese market, Nikkei has learned, underscoring the difficulty of finding a stable supply even as demand rises.
The batteries have been installed in the new Corolla and Levin sedans that the Japanese automaker rolled out in China this year. Toyota is believed to have ordered around 50,000 of the batteries, which are the same cylindrical type used by Tesla.
