DE SOTO, U.S. -- Rick Walker, mayor of De Soto, Kansas, can barely contain his excitement about the vast U-shaped factory going up on his city's outskirts. Overhung with cranes and buzzing with over a thousand workers, the plant is being built by Panasonic Energy, a Japanese maker of batteries for electric vehicles and a major supplier to Tesla.
Panasonic showcased its automobile solutions, including models of its signature cylindrical EV batteries, at the world's biggest technology trade show, CES, in the U.S. city of Las Vegas earlier this month. (Photo by Tsuyoshi Tamehiro)
The Big Story
Panasonic leads Japan's EV battery comeback plan with U.S. push
Subsidies are driving gigafactory plans. But sagging demand may yet prove skeptics right
Read Next
Latest on The Big Story
