How the replacement 12-volt battery market continues to develop

Wherever a business might fit within the independent service and repair sector, understanding the shifting sands of any product or product group is important, but as the UK’s largest battery distributor, Ecobat Battery is in a particularly strong position to observe the developments, identify the trends and subsequently advise its customers of the direction of travel, when it comes to the 12-volt battery market.

Understanding the market helps wholesalers manage their stock more efficiently and allows them to make sure they have at hand the replacement batteries that their workshop customers will require on a daily basis. This in turn ensures that workshops can correctly address the needs of their customers as they bring their vehicles in for service or repair.

Distributing brands that include original equipment manufacturers such as Exide and VARTA, as well as premium quality aftermarket makes like Lucas and Numax, Ecobat Battery is able to examine a significant quantity of data, from across the sector, to build a clear picture of the present position and provide a reliable forecast of what the ongoing landscape is likely to look like.

So, how is the market developing? 

Historically, up to and even following, the vehicle manufacturer’s (VM) widespread adoption of start/stop technology, traditional SLI (starter, ignition and lights) batteries were the prominent replacement throughout the aftermarket. However, in order to give their respective customers a degree of purchasing choice, both wholesalers and workshops would generally provide differentiation to their offerings through a good, better, best option.

As intimated, although the VM’s commitment to start/stop systems prompted a change in the technology provided by the battery manufacturers, who moved away from SLI and over to AGM (absorbent glass mat) and then EFB (enhanced flooded battery), this change wasn’t reflected in the replacement market for several years. In 2016, for example, just 2% of Ecobat Battery’s sales were AGM/EFB, whereas by 2022 it was nearly one quarter, with a comparable decline in SLI sales.

Two years on and the migration to AGM/EFB batteries has continued, cemented all the more as start/stop technology is now fitted to almost every vehicle still incorporating a combustion engine. Ecobat Battery sales data confirms the reality of this trend as the present split between SLI and AGM/EFB is now 64%/36% and, when combined with vehicle application data, the migration rate looks to be accelerating. As a result, it is likely that the battery sales will be split 50%/50% possibly as early as the end of 2025.

What this comparison does not convey however, is the impact that the shift in technology has had in terms of the life expectancy of these batteries, which are considerably more robust that their SLI cousins. While they are still vulnerable if not used or maintained appropriately, evidence suggests that generally, they are lasting 30 to 50% longer than a traditional SLI battery, which points to a decline in overall replacement battery volumes. However, the reduction in quantity is somewhat mitigated by the higher average price of AGM/EFB batteries.

In addition to the useful insight that analysing the data gives those selling batteries, another very important aspect of the research is to highlight the importance of fitting a replacement of the correct technology for the application.

For workshops, this essential requirement is likely to supersede the good, better, best model, with an appropriate technology – SLI, EFB or AGM – model, which is something reflected in VARTA’s recent decision to dispense with its Black, Blue and Silver hierarchy, in favour of simply offering SLI, EFB or AGM batteries.