The comments by Shoichiro Watanabe of Panasonic Energy are the Tesla (TSLA.O) supplier's first clear indication of the number of additional factories it will need. "We will need to build around another four factories," Watanabe, the company's chief technology officer, said in an interview at its headquarters in Osaka on Friday. He signalled an openness to potential joint ventures for EV battery production, with automaker Mazda Motor (7261.T) among others, citing the changing nature of such projects in which investment is no longer shouldered by battery makers alone. Panasonic will not rule out the possibility of a joint battery venture with Mazda as part of a supply partnership the companies are working out, Watanabe said. They aim to sign off on it this year, and expect to supply batteries after 2025.

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Persons: Shoichiro Watanabe, Miho Uranaka, Watanabe, Elon Musk, Miho Uranka, Daniel Leussink, David Dolan Organizations: Panasonic Energy Co, REUTERS, Panasonic, Reuters, Panasonic Energy, EV, Mazda, NORTH AMERICA Panasonic, U.S, Thomson Locations: Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan, Miho Uranaka OSAKA, United States, Nevada, Kansas, Osaka, North America, Oklahoma