Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japanese electronics giant Panasonic announced that it has shipped over 200 billion dry-cell batteries worldwide as of the end of September, becoming the first Japanese company to do so.

The company has been producing dry-cell batteries, which are common for handheld electronic devices, since the early 1930s. The batteries it makes have evolved over time in accordance with the different devices they’re used for, such as flashlights and tape recorders.

Panasonic’s EVOLTA and EVOLTA NEO-brand alkaline dry batteries have been set the Guinness World Record for longest-lasting AA alkaline batteries for 13 consecutive years. In a statement, the company emphasized that because of their long lifetime, EVOLTA NEO batteries are especially useful to keep stored in case of natural disasters.

Looking ahead, the company plans to focus on overseas battery markets in Asia and Latin America, where it expects high demand growth and where it predicts high-performance alkaline batteries to take over the market from manganese batteries.