The company that famously declared it would be the last automaker in the world to field an EV-only fleet has just commissioned a lithium-ion battery plant in Japan.

Mazda Motor said on Monday that it will build a new module pack plant for automotive cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells in Iwakuni City in southwest Japan.

Mazda is building a new plant in Japan, where it will produce Panasonic batteries. Its first EV-dedicated platform is being developed in-house and will be ready by 2027. Mazda is also working on next-gen lithium-ion and solid-state battery technology Mazda might be doing just fine without a dedicated EV,

Tesla's market share also dropped to 1.3 percent from 2.2 percent, as the US electric vehicle maker shifted only 38,000 units in Germany.

Sales of new electric vehicles in Germany plunged last year, official figures showed Monday, as a slow switch to battery-powered cars deepened the woes of the country's flagship auto industry.