OSAKA, July 3 (Kyodo) — Panasonic Corp. will start production of smartphones for corporate users possibly by the end of this business year ending next March, sources close to the matter said Tuesday.

Panasonic will utilize its know-how for its sturdy Toughbook notebook personal computers for the production of the corporate-use smartphones, which will feature enhanced information security, long battery life and sturdiness compared with those for consumer use.

The Japanese electronics maker aims to produce tens of thousands of the smartphones in the first year at its Kobe plant, western Japan, supplying them to corporate customers of its notebook PCs in Japan and the United States.