Panasonic may start supplying EV batteries to Subaru

Panasonic Holdings Corp.'s battery manufacturing unit may begin supplying Subaru Corp. with electric vehicle batteries, in a deal that would grow its customer network within Japan, sources close to the matter said Friday.

The move comes after Panasonic Energy Co. recently agreed to supply Mazda Motor Corp. with batteries for its EV models scheduled to be launched in the latter half of the 2020s.

Panasonic Energy, a major supplier of batteries to U.S. EV pioneer Tesla Inc., faces growing competition from global rivals including South Korea’s LG Corp. and China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology ...