Japanese electronics giant Panasonic Corporation expects its automotive battery sales to have more than doubled in the three years ending in March 2019, reflecting strong demand from US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla.

Kenji Tamura, the executive in charge of Panasonic's automotive and industrial systems business, confirmed his company has brought forward a US$1.6bn investment in its new US$5bn "Gigafactory" in the US state of Nevada at the request of Tesla, to meet strong orders for the Model 3 sedan.

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Panasonic is the sole designated battery supplier for the Model 3, Tesla's first mass-market car model.

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk in April said his company expects its total vehicle production to reach 500,000 units in 2018 – two years ahead ofhis original target. By the end of June, Tesla aims to lift Model 3 output to 5,000 units per week, according to Mr Tamura.

Panasonic expects annual sales of automobile batteries to reach JPY400bn (US$3.67m) in the current fiscal year compared with JPY180bn in the year ending in March 2016, due mainly to strong demand for lithium-ion batteries from Tesla.

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Combined with energy storage batteries, annual sales are expected to JPY500bn in the current fiscal year – 2.5 times more than in the previous year.

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Panasonic is developing lithium-ion batteries with little or no cobalt content, as prices for that particular rare metal continue to soar in international markets. At an analysts meeting, Mr Tamura said his company has already "cut cobalt usage substantially and aimsto achieve zero usage of this metal in the near future".

Batteries being developed for the Model 3 have achieved a very high energy-density with significantly reduced cobalt content and higher nickel content, while still maintaining superior thermal stability, he added