Move to new battery technology brings big aftermarket opportunity

Manbat looks at Start-Stop batteries in a series to update on the developments in the market and the ways to profit

Move to new battery technology brings big aftermarket opportunity

For more than 60 years, national battery distributor Manbat has been serving the independent aftermarket by aiming to provide high quality products, great availability and excellent customer service.

Sales patterns confirm that the move from familiar high output capacity lead-acid batteries in a traditional vehicle application to specialist cyclic batteries fitted to vehicles with a Start-Stop function has begun to gather pace in the last 12 months.

More than ever, garages need to be prepared to cater for the challenges that the batteries in these vehicles present. According to Manbat, the opportunities far outweigh the challenges.

They point out that over the last 25 years, profits from battery sales have fallen, so that a typical battery is the same price now as it was in 1990 and the labour rate a garage can now charge to change a traditionally battery is often zero.

However, with the technology change, three factors now begin to work in the garage’s favour:

  • The AGM/EFB batteries required for Start-Stop vehicles command a higher price, which means more of a margin for both motor factors and their garage customers
  • Garages can now charge for fitting the replacement because in contrast to a traditional system, this process can sometimes take a couple of hours work
  • As the average motorist has less knowledge of the new technology, and so is less likely to call into question a fitting charge

As a result, garages have a real opportunity to use the changing landscape to their advantage and combined with the implementation of a proactive battery testing service – which we’ll look at next time – can increase profits.

For further details, please call Manbat Customer Services on: 01743 218500 or visit the website using the ‘More Details’ button below.

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