Sony Corp to enter the Lucrative Car Battery Market

Sony Corp. will tap the rechargeable car battery market amid a growing focus on electric cars and green auto technology, chief executive Howard Stringer said Thursday.

"The energy business is obviously -- given the nature of the world we live in -- going to be a growth area," Stringer told reporters.

"We are going to put some of our own money into it and move quickly ... to see if we can find a place that makes sense for us," he said.

Japanese carmakers have invested heavily in developing hybrid, electric and fuel efficient cars that produce lower or no greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Toyota Motor has set up a business with Panasonic to produce lithium-ion batteries, while Nissan Motor and electronics giant NEC have also jointly set up a battery company.

"Somebody said to me, well, battery makers have car deals," said Stringer.

"If you produce the right battery, if you produce it, they will come," he said.

Sony has booked a net loss of 26.3 billion yen (290 million dollars) for the fiscal second quarter through September, hit by weak demand for televisions, cameras and other electronic devices.

It forecasts a net loss of 95 billion yen for the year to March.

However, Stringer said sales in the US holiday season had been brisk so far, especially of the PlayStation 3 game console and Blu-ray disks.