Sanyo to Sell Car Batteries to Multiple Clients

Wall Street Journal Online, Juro Osawa and Daisuke Wakabayashi, 25 February 2010

Sanyo's car battery business will remain largely independent from that of its parent Panasonic, since Panasonic's close ties to Toyota may make it difficult for Sanyo to keep other auto makers as customers, due to competitive reasons, the head of Sanyo's battery business said.  Whereas PEVE sells its batteries solely to Toyota, Sanyo, which currently supplies NiMH batteries to Ford and Honda, wants to stick to its plan to sell to multiple auto makers.  Panasonic and Sanyo are aiming to grab a combined revenue market share of around 40-50% by 2015.  He acknowledges it's not easy with Samsung SDI gaining ground technologically.  To approach the huge Chinese car battery market, Sanyo may consider teaming up with Chinese auto makers to beef up its local presence, he said. (Also reported by AP and DJ)