Chrysler sues battery supplier

Global - Carmaker Chrysler has reportedly filed a lawsuit against supplier Johnson Controls for overbilling them by more than US$15 million over the past two years.

Chrysler said it was being overcharged by Johnson Controls for leads that didn't end up in batteries, the Associated Press said.

"The amount of lead invoiced to Chrysler almost always favoured JCBG by several pounds per part," Chrysler said in a lawsuit.

JCBG, or the Johnson Controls Battery Group allegedly overcharged Chrysler over US$15 million over a two-year period.

However, the supplier said the contract never called for actual lead weight to be used to determine payments, and that the price depended on market conditions for lead and other factors.

Chrysler spokesman Michael Palese, quoted in the Associated Press said current battery shipments are not part of the dispute, but that the company wanted to recover past payments.

"There was no effect on the useful life of the battery. This was just us getting shorted on content," he said.