Amara Raja Batteries Ltd (ARBL) has forayed into the two-wheeler segment with the launch of `Pro Bike Rider? batteries on Monday. The company is looking at a market share of 20% in the next three to five years, said Jayadev Galla, managing director, ARBL.
Speaking to FE here, he said the company has set up a new facility to make 3 million pieces per annum adjacent to its existing plant in Tirupathi with an estimated investment of Rs 84 crore. ?We will have 1 million capacity in the first quarter which will be eventually scaled upto 3 million by the end of this fiscal,? he said.
The two-wheeler battery market in India is estimated to be around 18 million pieces (including 10 million pieces of after-market sales) per annum with an industry size of Rs 500 crore. This segment is growing at 8% per annum. ?We are looking at a market share of 5% in the first year and would achieve 20% in next three to five years,? Galla said.
Powered by VRLA technology our batteries will offer the most powerful performance at 30% higher than the best in the market, Amaron Pro Bike Rider comes with the first ever 60 month warranty, he pointed out.
VRLA technology is the preferred choice for the luxury cars across the world today. Amaron Pro Bike Rider is powered by proprietary VRLA technology from Johnson Controls Inc., which has been adapted and customised to meet the harsh demand of rugged Indian conditions at the in-house R&D lab of ARBL. The design and development has focused on applications and specifications required specially for the Indian market.
He said, the company is planning to invest Rs 200 crore in the current fiscal (including 2-wheeler battery plant) for expanding its industrial battery capacity from 400 million AH to 800 million AH per annum, VLRA capacity from 0.9 million to 1.2 million and expanding automotive battery capacity from 3.5 million to 4.5 million units per annum. ?Overall we are looking at 35% growth in topline and bottomline in the current fiscal,? he added.
