Sanyo Electric Co. and Germany's Volkswagen AG have agreed to develop lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles as global automakers race to develop environmentally friendly technology.
Sanyo said Wednesday it will invest ¥80 billion to expand production by 2015 of such batteries, with plans to start mass-producing them in a Japan plant by next year, making 15,000 to 20,000 batteries a year.
The deal with Volkswagen follows one in January 2006, when Sanyo and Volkswagen agreed to work together in nickel-metal hydride batteries, now used in most gas-electric hybrids like Toyota's Prius.