One of the industry's leading battery-electric medium-duty truck manufacturers has selected a familiar name to be its chief battery cell supplier.
California-based Harbinger Motors has confirmed that Panasonic Energy will be supplying the former with its latest 2170 batteries for all of its models. These batteries offer an "industry-leading" energy density of above 800Wh/L (watt-hour per liter).
Panasonic, along with CATL, is also the main supplier for Tesla.
Harbinger says the initial plan is for the cells to be manufactured in Japan with deliveries to be made directly to its Garden Grove headquarters. However, the agreement calls for future battery cell production to eventually take place at Panasonic's De Soto, Kansas facility.
If all goes according to plan, this arrangement will make the complete battery pack assembly the first in the commercial vehicle sector to be fully U.S.-sourced. Harbinger already has U.S.-based battery pack production.
[Related: Harbinger guarantees EV pricing amid IRA credit uncertainty]
The Panasonic 2170 cells are ideal for MD trucking in several ways, such as offering superior energy density, safety, and reliability. As of March 2025, Panasonic says is has supplied 19 billion lithium-ion EV batteries globally. That's the equivalent of powering 2.7 million EVs.
Harbinger aims to be the first EV manufacturer to have complete battery pack and cell production in the U.S.Harbinger Motors
Harbinger's proprietary stripped chassis is was designed specifically to accommodate medium-duty vehicles, such as walk-in vans, box trucks, recreational vehicles, delivery vans, and more. One of its unique design and engineering features is the chassis itself. It contains every major vehicle system - all of which are built in-house specifically the electric drivetrain, high voltage battery system, steering, brakes, and more.
The company says it's received over 4,000 binding pre-orders worth over $400 million from several other industry players and has so far raised $100 million in Series B funding, bringing total investment to $200 million since Harbinger was founded in 2021.
[Related: Harbinger Motors raised $100M in Series B funding]
"The battery cells we are using are the latest version Panasonic Energy supplies to the top consumer EV OEMs," said John Harris, co-founder and CEO of Harbinger. "Panasonic Energy’s long track record of both high-quality battery cell production and the industry’s lowest defect rates sets them apart and ensures Harbinger’s chassis will be outfitted with the best batteries available today."
