Sanyo, Honda to develop hybrid car batteries

TOKYO, April 12 Reuters reported that Japanese electronics maker Sanyo Electric Co (6764.T) said on Friday it would jointly develop batteries with Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T) for hybrid cars powered by a petrol engine and an electric motor.

Sanyo, a leading battery supplier for electronic products, said the two firms would develop a nickel hydrogen battery to meet the specific needs of different vehicles.

Japan's hybrid car market is still in its infancy with 50,400 units sold as of March 2001, according to the Japan Electric Vehicle Association. But the industry group said the number is expected to have grown to 73,000-74,000 by March this year.

Japan's hybrid car battery market is currently dominated by Matsushita Electric Co Ltd (6752.T).

Sanyo said it would aim for annual sales of 50 billion yen ($380.5 million) and to capture 50 percent of the global hybrid car battery market by 2005.

Honda has already rolled out two hybrid car models, using nickel hydrogen batteries supplied by Matsushita Electric.

Shares of Sanyo were up 2.46 percent at 583 yen on Friday morning, while Honda shares edged up 0.19 percent to 5,310 yen.