Pokhara, 26 December| In a strategic move to regain its competitive edge in the global electric vehicle (EV) market, nine prominent Japanese companies, including Hitachi Ltd., Ricoh Co., and JTEKT Corp., are set to establish a joint venture by April 2026. This collaboration aims to revolutionize the EV battery production system by developing a low-cost, high-efficiency model that streamlines the currently fragmented manufacturing process. Traditionally, producing EV batteries involves coordination among over 50 related companies and can take up to six years from initial design to actual production. The new venture seeks to compress this timeline to just two to three years, allowing Japanese manufacturers to respond more rapidly to global demand and compete effectively with low-cost rivals from China and South Korea.
The urgency of this initiative is underscored by Japan’s dramatic decline in global market share, which plummeted from a dominant 51.7% in 2015 to a mere 7.6% in 2023, while China and South Korea now control the lion’s share of the market. To reverse this trend, the joint venture plans to create an integrated production line model by 2028, with an estimated project cost of approximately ¥18 billion. This model will incorporate advanced production facilities and transport machinery while optimizing costs for essential components like air-conditioning. Furthermore, the partnership intends to share its technological breakthroughs with the Battery Association for Supply Chain to uplift the entire domestic industry. Supported by potential government subsidies, Japan aims to restore its global battery market share to 20% by 2030, reinforcing the nation’s economic security and industrial resilience in the clean energy transition.
