Sanyo Wants to Expand Its Li-Ion Hybrid Battery Base

Sanyo Wants to Expand Its Li-Ion Hybrid Battery Base

Sanyo Electric reportedly wants to broaden its automotive hybrid battery business base.

The company now has a contract to develop and supply lithium-ion cells to Volkswagen.  But a Japanese news service reports that Sanyo's top executive said in an interview he would like to sell the advanced hybrid batteries to Ford and Honda as well.

The two companies already purchase Sanyo's nickel-metal hydride batteries for their existing hybrid lineups in the U.S. and Canada...

Many battery firms have tied themselves to a single automaker. Sanyo's approach – individual clients from the Asian, European and North American markets, seems the smarter path and could help the company weather economic downturns.

Sanyo  poster from 2007 Tokyo auto show.

 Sanyo, one of a number of companies that sees profits in the move toward hybrid and all-electric transportation,  reportedly wants a 40 percent share of the global market for lithium-ion automotive batteries by 2015.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.