Panasonic used to be called Matsushita and they pioneered the non-cylindrical "prismatic" nickel metal hydride battery when they were working with Toyota on the

Panasonic used to be called Matsushita and they pioneered the non-cylindrical "prismatic" nickel metal hydride battery when they were working with Toyota on the Prius. It did not go this far, it was more like 6 pouch-cells aligned in a blade shape, but still not alien to them I bet. Also they transferred a lot of that tech to China over time so it is quite possible BYD grew off the Panasonic tradition. I'm betting Panasonic could do a Blade in mass production if they wanted.