Sydney based distributor Ayonz, whose Blaupunkt products are sold at the likes of Officeworks, Cheap As Chips and Catch, is facing a major problem after one of their portable Blaupunkt products exploded while being charged, risking the life of a Sydney family.

The Ayonz Blaupunkt portable DVD product which is widely sold in Australia has a lithium battery which exploded while being charged.

The owners who use the device to entertain their children were horrified when the device exploded according to a report on the Nine Network.

They have also claimed that they were lucky it was not being charged in their motor vehicle where it is used to entertain their children.

Blaupunkt was a famous German TV brand today the Company no longer exists, instead a European based Company licences the name to stick on cheap products in an effort create credibility.

This allows Companies such as Ayonz, to go to a factory in China, source a product and then stick the Blaupunkt name on a multitude of products before they sell into a retailer or range it in a retail marketplace such as Catch, Kogan or Amazon.

At this stage Product Recall Australia have not said whether they are set to issue a recall notice for the product.

In Australia lithium battery products are becoming a serious problem with some distributors walking away from supplying lithium powered products such as electric scooters which were legalised in NSW this week.

The government has not said what precautions they are set to put in place to prevent or minimise the explosion of lithium batteries used in scooters with one supplier of scooters telling ChannelNews that they are getting out of the business due to the risks.

The CEO of the business who does not want to be named said “The risks associated with supplying electric scooters are too high. Not only are their problems associated with the use of lithium batteries there are risks associated with people modifying devices and if someone gets killed or injured there is the risks associated with being sued. The same applies to retailers selling electric scooters”.

The waste and recycling industry says it’s fighting up to 12,000 fires a year caused by lithium-ion batteries and has warned that consumers will ultimately pay for the crisis if Government does not bring in new regulations.

State and territory Environment Ministers recently with federal counterpart Tanya Plibersek to discuss better battery management.

Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association chief executive Gayle Sloan, representing more than 400 businesses, said the stakes are high.

In the consumer electronics market several distributors such as Ayonz source products out of cheap factories in China and then stick a credible brand name on the product. In some cases, the price of the product is negotiated based on the price of the components.

Retailers such as Aldi go to great lengths to source products that meet their quality expectations. They in turn work with distributors such as German Company Wunsche Group or Tempo an Australian Company, who supply their Bauhn TV’s and Stirling appliances.

These Companies have extensive resources in China, who are responsible for quality control of goods including the checking of components to make sure high quality components have not been switched out for cheaper components during a production run.

Blaupunkt products are not sold in Aldi stores.