Product development emphasizes environment-friendly features, safety, longer battery life and higher reliability.
Environmental concerns and the need to boost competitiveness are prompting China lead-acid battery suppliers to focus on valve-regulated types. Models based on this technology now account for 50 percent of the country’s total output of batteries classified by structure and cap. Makers are confident the share will increase further as many companies emphasize this category.
Besides offering ecologically safe products, manufacturers are looking into alternative materials and developing new structure designs to improve cost management and bolster margins. A growing number are also implementing stricter waste management practices in compliance with local and international requirements.
Suppliers are riding on the robust global automotive industry to sustain the line amid declining sales resulting from the economic crisis. About 80 percent of China’s lead-acid batteries go to this segment. Two-thirds of such models target the replacement market, and the rest are sent to carmakers to be installed during vehicle assembly.
Demand from electric bikes, motorcycles and railway gas engines is likewise gaining momentum. E-bikes, in particular, are seen as a catalyst, especially for replacement batteries because existing models have a service life of only 12 to 14 months.
Companies concentrating on valveregulated models are setting their sights on the UPS, electric power and communications segments, where such variants can be used as a backup power supply.
Many are leveraging growing awareness about alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power to promote other battery types. Overall, they expect China’s lead-acid line to expand 20 percent annually in 2010-15, with production hitting $10.3 billion by 2015. The country’s output from January to April this year reached 33 million KVAh, exceeding the 31.5 million KVAh made during the same period in 2008. These figures are from the China Industrial Association of Power Sources and the National Bureau of Statistics.
Despite the generally optimistic outlook, makers admit they need to overcome pressing challenges to prop up the line.
The downturn in export sales has forced about 30 percent of companies out of the sector. An additional 50 percent transferred factories to lowcost areas such as Vietnam and India.
Many have reduced workforce by 40 to 50 percent. The majority uses only 40 percent of capacity.
In a bid to shore up support, especially for small operations, the China Electric Equipment Industrial Association is working to reinstitute the export tax rebate. It is also negotiating for financial assistance and the inclusion of high-end valve-regulated, lead-acid batteries for solar and wind power, and gel types into the list of products backed by the national government.
Note: All price quotes in this report are in US dollars unless otherwise specified. FOB prices were provided by the companies interviewed only as reference prices at the time of interview and may have changed. Disclaimer: All product images are provided by the companies interviewed and are for reference purposes only. Those product images featuring products with trademarks, brand names or logos are not intended for sale. We, our affiliates, and our affiliates' respective directors, officers, employees, representatives, agents or contractors, do not accept and will not have any responsibility or liability for product images (or any part thereof) which infringe on any intellectual property or other rights of a third party. Contact suppliers in this article Print Preview
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