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Sanyo Defends Batteries in Lenovo Recall

Sanyo Electric Co. defended laptop computer batteries that it made and were subject to a worldwide recall on Friday, saying the problem resulted from strong external impact to the battery and was not a problem with the batteries "themselves."

Computer maker Lenovo Inc. announced the voluntary recall of 205,000 battery packs a day earlier, 100,000 in the United States, the remainder overseas, Sanyo said in a release. The recall targets Sanyo's 9-cell Lithium-ion extended-life battery pack.

"While the pack fully satisfied specifications and internal testing standards, these incidents occurred due to a strong external impact to the battery pack of a specific notebook PC model from a certain angle," the Japanese manufacturer said.

"The incidents were not triggered by the battery cells themselves."

Sanyo spokesman Akihiko Oiwa said the company was still assessing how much the recall would cost and could not comment on the matter.

Lenovo warned the batteries could cause a fire hazard, following reports of the batteries overheating. The recall was the second for Lenovo in the past six months and comes as the world's third-largest computer maker tries to gain larger market share.

Sanyo said it was supporting Lenovo's recall and has already taken toward "working together with Lenovo and putting the first priority on consumer safety."

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