Sony adds 250,000 Vaio batteries to the global recall

All the facts and figures released

24 October 2006 10:13 GMT / By Amber Maitland

At a special press conference this morning in Tokyo, Sony announced the total number of batteries used in Vaio notebooks that it's recalling, and also put a figure on the cost of the global notebook recall.

In addition to the 90,000 batteries that Sony is replacing in Japan and China, the company has added another 250,000 in other parts of the world. It estimates that the replacement program will cost around 51 billion yen (£229 million) for about 9.6 million batteries worldwide.

The only major holdout of the big computer manufacturers is HP, who has yet to initiate a recall. Even Gateway has been drawn in, recalling 34,000 batteries in 18 different notebook models, but the company says that it has not heard of any evidence that batteries in its computers have had any problems.

The battery recall combined with its troubles in shipping its hardware out on time means that Sony has cut its full-year operating profit prediction by a massive 62%.

A statement on Sony's website detailing the Vaio battery recall reads: “Sony initiated this replacement program as a measure of its commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction and alleviating any consumer concern”.