Case Study: Navigating a lithium-ion battery recall in a shifting regulatory landscape

Lithium-ion batteries have become indispensable in powering modern mobility, from electric scooters to high-performance consumer electronics. Yet their benefits come with risks, particularly when defects emerge. Recalls involving lithium-ion batteries are never routine, they require meticulous attention, regulatory expertise, and the agility to adapt swiftly to evolving situations.

When a recall occurs, companies must act decisively, not only to protect consumers and comply with regulations, but to preserve brand reputation. And when the recall environment itself changes midstream, the ability to adapt becomes the defining factor between reputational resilience and lasting damage.

Challenge

A European electric scooter manufacturer initiated a recall of over 2,500 units across four countries after identifying fire risks linked to the lithium-ion batteries powering its vehicles. The situation rapidly evolved into a high-pressure crisis with three compounding complications.

First, the recall reached the public before the manufacturer had completed its operational plan, generating consumer alarm and intense media scrutiny. Ongoing incidents while customers awaited collection guidance amplified public concern and created an urgent need for authoritative communication.

Second, mid-recall regulatory changes in one country dramatically narrowed allowable hazardous waste transport volumes under the national battery waste licensing regime. A planned centralized destruction pathway became unfeasible, forcing an immediate redesign of collection, transport, and disposal logistics.

Third, several supply chain partners withdrew from previously agreed roles due to perceived risk and regulatory uncertainty, fracturing logistics capacity and threatening compliance timelines. The combined effect jeopardized safe removals, regulatory standing, and the manufacturer’s brand credibility.

Solution

Sedgwick Brand Protection was approached to architect a new recall framework tailored to the shifting landscape. Our approach combined regulatory agility, operational resilience, and stakeholder reassurance:

• Immediate consumer engagement and reassurance: A dedicated multilingual contact center was rapidly deployed to triage inbound reports, deliver clear safety instructions, and coordinate collection schedules. Proactive outreach reduced consumer anxiety, limited further incidents, and reinforced the manufacturer’s accountability.
• Regulatory strategy and rapid redesign: Our regulatory specialists interpreted the revised waste licensing constraints and redesigned the program to meet new transport limits. We identified and validated alternative destruction facilities across the affected jurisdictions and segmented collection flows to align with local licensing thresholds.
• Resilient logistics and partner reactivation: We rebuilt a distributed logistics network by onboarding vetted third-party carriers and disposal partners, negotiating contingency terms, and codifying chain-of-custody and audit controls to preserve compliance and traceability.
• Operational transparency and stakeholder alignment: We implemented centralized reporting and daily coordination rhythms that kept regulators, retailers, and remaining suppliers informed and aligned, enabling faster approvals and restoring partner confidence.

Results

Although the original six-month recall timeline extended under regulatory and logistical pressure, decisive program redesign prevented reputational erosion and secured consumer safety.

• Incidents contained and risk mitigated: Ongoing fires ceased as at-risk batteries were identified, isolated, and removed through prioritized collection lanes.
• Regulatory compliance restored: Revised destruction pathways and distributed transport plans met evolving licensing requirements and produced a transparent audit trail.
• Supply chain resilience rebuilt: Re-engaged and newly contracted partners executed segmented collection and disposal with documented chain-of-custody controls.
• Strengthened incident preparedness: The manufacturer emerged with a hardened recall playbook and validated supplier roster, positioning the organization to respond swiftly and confidently should a future battery-related event arise.

Key Takeaways

• Regulatory agility is essential: Lithium-ion battery recalls can be disrupted by midstream regulatory changes. Companies must be prepared to pivot quickly and maintain compliance under evolving conditions.
• Supply chain confidence matters: Transparent communication and risk mitigation strategies are critical to keeping partners engaged during high-stakes recalls. 
• Design distributed disposal strategies: Relying on a single destruction path creates systemic risk; validated, regionally distributed options increase resilience and compliance.

About Sedgwick Brand Protection

Brand and reputation are the most valuable and vulnerable assets a business has. Brands embody everything a business does, and its customers expect. 

Nothing says more about a company’s commitment to its customers than its efforts to uphold promises of safety, quality, and service. That’s why companies are often remembered more for how they handle an in-market challenge than for the problem itself. We know what it takes to manage recalls in a way that upholds your commitments to customers, supply chain partners, and regulators. 

Trusted by the world’s leading brands and businesses, Sedgwick Brand Protection works in partnership to manage the risks and minimize the impacts of in-market business and product crises. Since 1995, we have managed more than 7,000 of the most sensitive and time-critical product recall and remediation programs, spanning 150+ countries and 50+ languages. 

To discover more about our product recall and incident response solutions, visit: https://www.sedgwick.com/product-recall

2.5K

lithium-ion units recalled

Spanning

4

countries

Multilingual

contact center rapidly deployed

Navigated

regulatory changes mid recall