[TusharK]

Amara Raja Batteries Ltd. (ARBL) has inaugurated its 2-wheeler battery factory situated at the Amara Raja Growth Corridor in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. Mr. George R Oliver, Chairman and CEO of Johnson Controls inaugurated the plant.



In the first phase of operations, the factory will have a capacity of 5 million units, which will be later increased to 17 million units. Later, the plan is to expand operations and increase capacity to 29 million units, making it the largest 2-wheeler battery plant in India. This will be achieved with an estimated investment of Rs. 700 crore.

The new battery manufacturing facility will have a workforce of 1,300 people. It has high-speed assembly lines and robotic systems to minimize human intervention. To reduce its carbon footprint, the plant will utilize 2.7 MW of roof top solar panels that generate 4.5 million KWh of energy.

Amara Raja currently supplies automotive batteries to OEMs like Ashok Leyland, Ford India, Honda, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, and Tata Motors.

[Red Liner]

I wonder what stops these guys from making technical advances like li-on batteries that weigh less and such. Is it only about numbers or is there no impetus for technological pride?

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I wonder what stops these guys from making technical advances like li-on batteries that weigh less and such. Is it only about numbers or is there no impetus for technological pride?

That's like expecting a classical Piano player to start playing base guitar. Lead acid and Lithium Ion battery technologies are so different that Exide and Amara Raja have zero advantage over any other company, when it comes to building Li-Ion battery factory. Sure, these two companies will get into Li-Ion battery business in the future - but they are likely to be a bits and pieces player.

Reliance Industries
Xiaomi
Toshiba

Companies like these have a higher possibility of building a large Li-Ion battery factory in India. Coming back to topic - looking at the scale of investment, it looks like two wheeler sales will continue to grow at 10% plus rate for a long time to come.

Originally Posted by TusharK

To reduce its carbon footprint, the plant will utilize 2.7 MW of roof top solar panels that generate 4.5 million KWh of energy.

Why do they even bother? Photograph of a typical lead smelting plant:

[manish_symc]

Oh, that may be the reason of stock price jump to over 4% today after so long.