Lead-acid battery manufacturer Tudor India is investing Rs 24 crore for expanding capacity to 1 million units batteries per annum from 6,00,000 units currently.
Will jack up capacity to 1 million units
MUMBAI: Lead-acid battery manufacturer Tudor India, owner of Prestolite brand of batteries for automotive and domestic use, is investing Rs 24 crore for expanding capacity to 1 million units batteries per annum from 6,00,000 units currently. The expanded capacity would come on stream by June.
Tudor India is a step-down subsidiary of the US-based battery major Exide Technologies. Chloride Motive Power Batteries of UK, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Exide Technologies, holds 84% in Tudor.
For the Rs 95 crore company, this will be the second-round of expansion. The company earns about 80% of revenues from the aftermarket segment. “Due to capacity constraints, we are not able to increase our original equipment (OE) production significantly from the current levels. The new capacity would meet part of the OE demand but it would be essentially for the aftermarket segment,” Madan Kotnala, country general manager, Tudor India said.
Kotnala said the company has currently no plans of entering the industrial battery space, where its parent Exide Technologies has a significant presence. Exide Technologies has products for marine, golf car, lawn and garden, telecom and railroad applications.
“The expansion is part of our company’s overall strategy that focuses on taking advantage of profitable growth opportunities - both in manufacturing and global sourcing - particularly in India and China,” Luke Lu, president, Asia Pacific, Exide Technologies said.
It makes better sense for the company to focus on the aftermarket segment as volumes are high and margins are higher compared to the OE segment. The total four-wheeler battery market in the country, including commercial vehicles, is 9 million units per annum, of which the aftermarket size is 7 million units. Of the 13 million two-wheeler batteries sold per annum, half are in the aftermarket space.
However in the aftermarket space, un-organised players have about 60% of the market, which industry officials say is getting depleted by a few percentage points each year in favour of organised brands.
In the domestic market, Exide Industries, with an overall (automotive and industrial) 78% market share, is the largest battery manufacturer. Amara Raja and Tata AutoComp are the other major players in the automotive space.
Kotnala said the company has currently no plans of entering the industrial battery space, where its parent Exide Technologies has a significant presence. Exide Technologies has products for marine, golf car, lawn and garden, telecom and railroad applications.
“The expansion is part of our company’s overall strategy that focuses on taking advantage of profitable growth opportunities - both in manufacturing and global sourcing - particularly in India and China,” Luke Lu, president, Asia Pacific, Exide Technologies said.
g_rabin@dnaindia.net
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