Panasonic Energy has pushed back mass production of its 4680 cylindrical battery, with the company yet to receive a confirmed purchase order from a key customer, reported Nikkei Asia.

The company had indicated in July last year that it expected the final customer feedback imminently and intended to begin full production by the close of March.

Sources cited in the report say that order has not yet arrived.

The 4680 cell is double the physical size of Panasonic Energy's previous 2170 model and delivers roughly five times the energy capacity, allowing electric vehicles to achieve greater range using fewer cells.

Two dedicated lines were built at the company's Wakayama plant in western Japan during fiscal 2023, with mass production initially pencilled in for March 2024.

A formal opening ceremony for the facility followed in September 2024 after production preparations were completed.

Panasonic Energy held a supply agreement with Tesla for the 4680 cell and had been in discussions with additional EV manufacturers.

Once output began, the firm had aimed to grow its overall EV battery capacity three- to fourfold by fiscal 2028, from a base of 40 to 50 gigawatt-hours in 2022.

Those targets have since been scaled back amid a broader global deceleration in EV demand, driven in part by the reduction or elimination of buyer incentives across the US and other markets.

Tesla's worldwide vehicle deliveries fell 8.6% last year to around 1.64 million units.

Panasonic Holdings responded in 2024 by freezing plans for a third US battery plant and dropping its revenue target for the battery division.

Technology transfers linked to the 4680 programme – intended for that new facility and the company's existing Kansas factory – have also stalled.

Full-scale automotive battery production at the Kansas site, previously due in 2025, has been delayed.

The company has separately repurposed some production lines at its Suminoe facility in Japan to make power storage systems for data centres, where demand remains robust.

A comparable conversion is being considered at the Kansas plant.

Panasonic Group chief executive Yuki Kusumi had designated EV batteries a strategic priority for the wider group in 2023.