每日英語跟讀 Ep.K574: Panasonic delays production of Tesla's 4680 battery cells for performance improvements
Panasonic, the Japanese supplier for Tesla, announced on Wednesday that it will delay the commercial production of its 4680 battery cells until the April to September period in 2024, as it aims to enhance their performance. The company had previously planned to begin volume production for Tesla between April 2023 to March 2024. The delay is due to the introduction of performance improvement measures that will enhance competitiveness, according to Panasonic's earnings presentation materials.
作為特斯拉的日本供應商，松下宣布將推遲4680電池的商業生產至2024年4月至9月期間，以提高其性能。公司此前計劃在2023年4月至2024年3月期間為特斯拉開始量產。根據松下的收益報告材料，此次推遲是為了引入性能改進措施，進一步提高競爭力。
The 4680 battery cells are key to making cheaper and compelling electric cars and have been championed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Although Tesla is already producing the cells at its California and Texas factories, the carmaker struggled to meet its targets for production and performance. Tesla executive Drew Baglino revealed in a recent conference call that the company plans to steadily ramp production of the cells ahead of Cybertruck production next year, with over 1,000 cars per week produced by the end of 2022.
4680電池是製造更便宜且引人注目的電動汽車的關鍵，也是特斯拉執行長馬斯克（Elon Musk）所強推的計畫。儘管特斯拉已經在其加州和德克薩斯州工廠生產這些電池，但該公司在生產和性能方面遇到了困難。特斯拉高管德魯巴格利諾（Drew Baglino）在最近的一次電話會議上透露，該公司計劃在明年Cybertruck生產之前逐步提高電池的生產量，到2022年底每周生產超過1,000輛車。
Panasonic is currently running a pilot 4680 production line at its Wakayama factory in Japan. Tesla uses the cells in its base Model Y, and LG Energy Solution, Tesla's South Korean supplier, also plans to set up a new 4680 production line at its domestic factory by the end of this year. However, the company has not announced when the batteries will start volume production.
松下目前正在日本的和歌山工廠進行4680電池的試產。特斯拉在其基本款Model Y中使用這些電池，而特斯拉的韓國供應商LG能源解決方案也計劃在年底前在國內工廠設立新的4680生產線，然而，該公司目前尚未宣布這種電池何時開始量產。
Reference article: https://www.reuters.com/technology/panasonic-delays-production-new-tesla-battery-improve-performance-2023-05-10/