Japanese major Hitachi group’s arm, Hitachi Chemicals Co Ltd, announced a strategic alliance with Ahmedabad-based Alf Technologies (India) Pvt Ltd for sale and service of Hitachi Automotive Batteries in India.

Hitachi Chemical had launched its brand of car batteries in India in 2015.

The company is looking to expand reach in the Indian automotive battery market, entered into a strategic alliance with Alf Technologies, which sells its own brand of lead-acid automotive batteries with a pan-India presence.

Hitachi has now launched its new commercial vehicle batteries and extended its range of car batteries, which will be sold through the dealer and retail network of Alf Technologies.

Elaborating on the market potential of Hitachi Automotive Batteries, Jackie Chuah, Director, Hitachi Chemical Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Singapore, said, “We launched our products in South East Asia in 2013 and forayed into India in 2015. India is a natural choice, as it is the second largest passenger car market in Asia and sixth largest in the world. We at Hitachi Chemical, employ cutting-edge technology and automation to ensure hi-quality performance and reliability of our batteries. Importantly, our energy storage devices account for 20 per cent of the total turnover Hitachi Chemical.”

The Indian battery industry grew 9-10 per cent year on year in 2015-16, with an exponential replacement market potential of 18 million units for automotive batteries and 30 million units for two-wheeler batteries.

Parth Jain, Director of Alf Technologies, said, “After this alliance with Hitachi Chemical Co we will further expand our presence from 3,000 retail counters to over 10,000 counters in the next three years. We look to achieve 10 per cent market share in automotive batteries in 3-5 years, with a projected turnover of ₹250 crore, from the current ₹40 crore.”

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