The source declined to be identified because the talks on the joint venture are private. A joint venture would build on the agreement that the pair announced in late 2017 on joint development of batteries with higher energy density in a prismatic cell arrangement.
Toyota and Panasonic each said the plan to set up a joint venture, first reported by the Nikkei business daily on Sunday, was not what they have publicly announced. A Toyota spokesman said the two companies have been working on the battery partnership announced in 2017. Panasonic made the same comment in a statement.
Under a planned joint venture, Panasonic would shift most of its prismatic battery-related equipment and facilities in Japan and China to the joint venture, while those producing batteries for US EV maker Tesla Inc will remain under the company, the source said.