OSAKA, Japan—In December 2022, just one month after officially breaking ground at the building site in Kansas, Panasonic Energy Co. Ltd. announced it has entered into multiyear agreements to supply batteries for Lucid’s award-winning luxury electric vehicle, Lucid Air, the fastest-charging, longest range EV on the market, and Lucid’s upcoming Gravity SUV. The agreement marks another milestone in Panasonic’s plans to expand production of lithium-ion EV batteries beyond Japan and into the U.S. with production coming from both a facility in Japan, as well as expected future production from its recently announced battery production facility in De Soto, Kansas.

“Panasonic is a fantastic partner with both innovative technology and depth of experience,” said Peter Rawlinson, Lucid’s CEO and CTO. “This agreement will help us meet the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries as we continue to ramp production of the full Lucid Air line-up in 2023 and expect to begin production of our Gravity SUV in 2024.”