Mazda is building a new battery plant in Japan, aiming for a full-scale electrification era with advanced EV platforms and battery technology.

The company that famously declared it would be the last automaker in the world to field an EV-only fleet has just commissioned a lithium-ion battery plant in Japan.

Mazda Motor said on Monday that it will build a new module pack plant for automotive cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells in Iwakuni City in southwest Japan.

Located in Iwakuni City, in Japan's Yamaguchi Prefecture, the plant targets 10 GWh of annual production, Mazda said. Cells will be supplied by Panasonic under an agreement between the two companies announced in June 2023 and approved by Japanese regulators in September 2024.

The new facility will be equipped to produce modules and packs for automotive cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells.

Mazda is finally stepping up with plans to build its first dedicated EV. The upcoming Mazda EV will be made in Japan and based on a new in-house platform. Here’s what we know about it so far. Although Mazda isn’t the first brand that comes to mind when you think of electric vehicles,