Lithium Battery Competition for Electric Vehicles gets Intense with Toshiba Entry

The market for making batteries for electric vehicles is seeing more and more entrants making the competition in this nascent sector quite intense.The competition is being seen between both established companies like Sanyo,LG and now Toshiba with a number of startups like A123 Systems,Valence Technology , that are competing with each other to grab an advantage.The main strategy used by these players is to tie  up with automakers in joint development for batteries.Sometimes this also leads to a stake buy of smaller vehicle makers. There is also competition being posed by integrated battery cum vehicle makers like BYD.The competition is not only between these companies but also between different battery chemistry like NiMH and Li ion based batteries.

Toshiba develops battery with automakers – Reuters

Japanese electronic conglomerate Toshiba Corp said it is developing lithium-ion batteries with multiple automakers as it seeks to benefit from growing demand for more environment-friendly cars.

Electronics companies are increasingly teaming up with automakers to supply battery systems for electric cars and hybrid vehicles, with output of rechargeable batteries expected to jump five-fold in the next five years.

“We are in a development phase with multiple automakers,” said Nakata, a 34-year Toshiba veteran who once anchored a unit in the United States. “Our strategy is to compete in an open market rather than doing business one-on-one,” he said.

Toshiba has won orders from Honda Motor to supply batteries for electric motorcycles, and has said it will supply batteries for electric cars to an unidentified automaker.