(Kyodo News International via NewsEdge) Mitsubishi Electric is considering demanding that Sanyo Electric pay compensation for financial damage caused by defective Sanyo battery packs used in Mitsubishi mobile phone handsets, sources close to the matter said.
If Mitsubishi does claim a massive sum of money, it could deal a serious blow to the struggling operations of the Osaka-based electronics maker, which is now in the midst of restructuring, industry observers say.
The battery in question is a lithium-ion pack made by a Sanyo subsidiary for use in NTT DoCoMo phones.
The device, called the D06, could overheat or explode during recharging or immediately afterwards if its surface has become scratched or dented due to physical pressure.
Numerous cases of batteries overheating or exploding have been reported and the mobile operator and Mitsubishi announced a recall of some 1.3 million battery packs on December 7.
At the same time, DoCoMo ceased to sell Mitsubishi-made FOMA D902i mobile phone handsets with Sanyo-made batteries installed in them.
The affected handsets are estimated to be worth several billions of yen.
Mitsubishi could calculate the sum of damages to be claimed based on the profit it would have reaped from the number of handsets NTT DoCoMo would have purchased.
On the other hand, it might be difficult to prove that the payment of such a sum by Sanyo is justifiable, which makes it hard to predict the outcome of Mitsubishi's contemplated move.
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