Sony Supports Voluntary Recalls by PC Manufacturers Related To Notebook Battery Packs

TOKYO, Oct. 30 – Sony Corporation will support voluntary recalls announced today by various PC manufacturers and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, encompassing about 100,000 notebook battery packs worldwide.

These voluntary recalls involve certain notebook computers using Sony 2.15Ah lithium ion cells.

Affected PC manufacturers have collectively reported 40 incidents globally (incl. 13 in Europe) of overheating associated with these recalls -- some of which included smoke and/or flames. Sony was informed that four incidents involved small burns and 21 included minor property damage.

It is believed that most of these incidents were related to manufacturing line adjustments made from October 2004 to June 2005, which may have affected some battery cells produced during that period. In addition, there were some incidents that may have involved a raw material flaw.

The Sony 2.15Ah lithium ion cells are a different type of cell from those covered by the much larger recalls and replacement programs that certain PC manufacturers announced in 2006.

Sony VAIO notebook computers also use different battery cell types, so they are not part of these recalls.

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Editors Notes: Outline of the Voluntary Recalls by PC Manufacturers and Incidents

1. Affected battery cell type: 2.15Ah cells

2. Number of battery packs to be recalled by PC manufacturers: About 100,000 packs worldwide

3. Reported overheating incidents: 40 overheating incidents (13 in Europe)

4. Cumulative global shipment quantity of 2.15Ah cells since 2002: About 260 million cells

5. Cumulative incident rate: 0.000016%