Sony’s mass battery recalls have been all over the news ever since Dell initiated the first recall back in August. Based on announcements from affected companies—Dell, Apple, Toshiba, Lenovo, Hitachi, Fujitsu, and Sharp—the number of total batteries hit is just under the eight million mark. However, Sony has now announced that the recall epidemic will add up to 9.6 million batteries, probably because a global replacement program that added a number of unnamed notebook vendors to the mix earlier this month.
Sony says the recall, which is the largest in U.S. consumer electronics history, will cost it a whopping ¥51 billion, equivalent to just over $431 million. That figure doesn’t factor in “provisions for possible lawsuits,” though, so Sony’s costs are liable to rise even further. Toshiba, for one, said earlier this week that it might seek compensation from Sony for “lost sales opportunities and a decline in the value of [the Toshiba brand].” If Toshiba demands damages, other notebook vendors might follow.
