Suzuki, Toshiba and Denso have signed a joint venture to establish a company to produce automotive lithium-ion batteries. This joint venture company will be capitalised at two billion Japanese yen, with the planned participation ratio of Suzuki at 50 per cent, TOSHIBA at 40 per cent and DENSO at 10 per cent respectively.
As the world moves towards electric and hybrid vehicles, the need to produce affordable lithium-ion batteries will become quite significant. The company, in a statement, has said that In India, higher attention is being paid to environment and plans are afoot to introduce new CO2 standards for automobiles. In the Indian automotive market where compact cars are the mainstream models, introduction of sustainable technology suitable for such affordable cars is required. The battery pack manufacturing joint-venture by the three companies will realise a stable supply of lithium-ion battery packs in India in the course of promoting sustainable cars in the country. This will also contribute to the ´Make in India´ initiative by the Indian Government.
Suzuki has not divulged any further details about the agreement, but has stated that the company will be established this year itself and will aim to begin production as soon as possible.
