Panasonic still moving forward with Kansas factory after pulling plans for Oklahoma plant

Oklahoma lawmakers offered Panasonic a $698 million incentive package and funded $145 million in site improvements for an electric vehicle battery plant near Tulsa. The company said the decision won't affect its promised $4 billion factory in De Soto, Kansas.
A global company has once again decided against building an electric vehicle battery plant near Tulsa despite lawmakers offering a $698 million incentive package and funding millions of dollars in site improvements at the company’s request.

A Panasonic spokesperson said Friday that the company will not build a multibillion-dollar battery plant at Pryor’s MidAmerica Industrial Park.

“In April 2023, we entered into an agreement with the state of Oklahoma to explore building a factory in the state, with the understanding that we would make a decision about whether or not to move forward at the end of that exploratory process,” Panasonic spokesperson Alison Klooster said in an email. “After careful deliberations, we have made the decision not to move forward with developing the site.”

Klooster did not say why the company is no longer considering Pryor. Decisions about where to build new facilities are complex and based on a wide range of factors, she said.