Exide vs Amara Raja: Which battery giant is better posi...

The‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ battery industry in India is going through a significant change. Although lead-acid batteries are still the most common, the transition to lithium-ion is happening very fast, which is a consequence of the electrification of vehicles demand which is growing exponentially, the need for energy storage at a large scale, and the fact that the government is helping the local manufacturing sector very much.

As a result of this rapid transformation, Exide and Amara Raja, the two big players in the industry, are going in different ways to create the strongest battery ecosystem for the coming ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌years.

Amara Raja Ener g y & Mobility

Amara‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ Raja Energy & Mobility Ltd, a top energy storage and mobility solutions provider in India, has extended its footprint in the lead-acid battery space in automotive and industrial segments. The company is popularly known for its flagship brand, Amaron, which is the most common automotive aftermarket brand in India.

Amara Raja runs fourteen manufacturing units and has a tightly integrated supply chain supported by in-house plastic moulding and lead recycling facilities. It caters to both OEMs and the replacement market and exports to more than 60 countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company has a market share of 25 percent in the lead-acid battery space.

The company has a robust network across the country, consisting of 23 branches, 40 distribution points, over 1 lakh points of sale, and over 1,500 direct partners, thus ensuring strong market reach and customer service throughout ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌India.

Out of the total 14 manufacturing facilities, Amara Raja has an Automotive Battery Manufacturing capacity of 6.6 crore units and a 2.8 billion Ah of Industrial Battery capacity.

Coming to its investment highlights, Amara Raja has invested Rs 1,200 crores cumulatively in new energy as of Q1 FY26. For FY26, the company guided a total capex of Rs 1,400-1,500 crores in total of which the majority of the investment would be done in the New Energy Business. An additional Rs 1,200 crore investment is planned for the 1 GWh NMC lithium cell project by FY27 and is on track to have a total Giga cell plant with a capacity of 16 GW by FY30.

Amara Raja reported a core revenue of Rs 3,467 crore in Q2 FY26, a growth of 7 percent as compared to Rs 3,251 crore in Q2 FY25. Additionally, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, it grew slightly by 2 percent from Rs 3,401 crore.

Regarding its profitability, it reported a net profit of Rs 276 crore in Q2 FY26, a growth of 17 percent as compared to Rs 236 crore in Q2 FY25. Additionally, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, it recorded a staggering growth of 67 percent from Rs 165 crore.

Exide Industries

Exide‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ Industries Ltd. is the energy storage leader in the Indian market for over 75 years. The company manufactures a wide array of lead-acid batteries (2.5Ah

to 20,200Ah) and power storage solutions for the automotive, industrial, inverter, and home UPS segments. The products of the company are being shipped to more than 60 countries through a strong global network.

Exide has 11 manufacturing units spread across India and also has a presence in Sri Lanka, the UK, and Singapore. It is the only Indian battery company having three big lead recycling plants. Moreover, the company is running a large distribution network of more than 1 lakh dealers and distributors. The company has a market share of 18 percent in the lead-acid battery space.

Out of the 11 manufacturing plants, 7 factories are dedicated to manufacturing batteries, 2 are for Home UPS Systems, and the other 2 are charging units. The company has an Automotive Battery Manufacturing capacity of 6.6 crore units and a 7.6 billion Ah of Non-Automotive and Stationery Battery capacity.

Coming to its investment highlights, Exide is investing Rs 5,000 crore in the first phase of its lithium cell project, Exide Energy Solutions, marking a major push into the EV sector. The company is setting up a 6 GWh plant, half for NMC cells used in electric two-wheelers for higher power and longer range, and half for LFP cells, which are safer and long-lasting, ideal for energy storage. It has already invested Rs 3,947 crore and expects trial runs by FY26-end, with commercial production starting shortly after.

The company is in advanced discussions with two major two-wheeler OEMs and intends to set the price based on import parity plus a certain percentage. Holding over 50 percent lead-acid market share and having solid OEM relationships, Exide is determined to quickly proliferate the use of lithium cells in ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌India.

Exide reported a core revenue of Rs 4,365 crore in Q2 FY26, a decline of 2 percent as compared to Rs 4,450 crore in Q2 FY25. Additionally, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, it declined by 7 percent from Rs 4,695 crore.

Regarding its profitability, it reported a net profit of Rs 174 crore in Q2 FY26, a decline of 25 percent as compared to Rs 233 crore in Q2 FY25. Additionally, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, it recorded a staggering decline of 37 percent from Rs 275 crore.

However, it is to be noted that the‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ reduction in the GST rate for batteries from 28 percent to 18 percent was the main reason for aggressive distributor destocking. Distributors and retailers delayed their purchases as they were expecting lower prices.

Exide has reduced its production in August and September to handle the inventory situation, which has led to under-recovery of fixed costs. The company refers to this situation as a temporary one, and the management is forecasting a “strong recovery in Q3 as deferred buying will come back”, with a target of margins of ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌12-13 percent

So why the shift from Lead Acid Batteries to Lithium Ion Batteries?

Generally,‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ the change from lead-acid to lithium-ion is quite a big win for companies like Exide and Amara Raja, as the future of batteries, mainly for electric vehicles and large energy storage, will be based on lithium-ion.

These are lighter batteries, have a longer life, can be charged faster, and are almost necessary for every modern device and EV. Therefore, both companies are essentially securing their future for the next 10–20 years with the lithium cell factories they are building now, instead of relying on the old lead-acid market which is gradually getting saturated.

Still, the transition has some challenges in the short term. For instance, lithium-ion batteries have a much longer life than lead-acid batteries, which implies that the replacement sales will decrease. In addition, the establishment of gigafactories entails large upfront investments, and it takes time before profits are realised. However, on the whole, it is still best to make the switch to lithium-ion because if they don’t make this move, they will be overtaken by global battery players and will miss the EV boom ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌completely.

So who Wins?

Exide‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ is slightly better placed for the long-term EV market, mainly due to the fact that it is far ahead in the manufacturing of lithium cells. By the end of the fiscal year 2026, the company will have a 6 GWh plant, with the trial runs expected at the end of the fiscal year 2026. This will make Exide the first gigafactory of real scale in India – the Indian EV ecosystem is in dire need of such a facility. Besides, its strong OEM relationships in two-wheelers, the largest EV segment, also provide it with a strong launchpad.

But Amara Raja is also close. It already has a Rs 1,200 crore investment in “new energy” going on, a 2 GWh NMC plant is on the way, and there is a wider plan to reach 16 GWh of total capacity gradually. Its financial performance is better at the moment, and unlike Exide’s temporary demand slowdown, Amara Raja is experiencing a strong OEM ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌traction.

Written by Satyajeet Mukherjee

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