Automotive and industrial battery major Exide Industries expects exports to recover to around 8 per cent of total revenue from the current 5–6 per cent, riding a spate of recent announcements on India’s trade engagements with key Western automotive markets such as the European Union and the US, and an exclusive tie-up with a European partner.
“Exports are currently at about 5 to 6 per cent of the business, compared with around 8 per cent a few quarters ago. In some markets, we had to cut supplies due to geopolitical tensions. We have also developed premium products for the US and Europe, but these did not scale up earlier because of trade barriers,” managing director and chief executive Avik Roy said during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday.
“In Europe, we have found a new partner with whom we have an exclusive arrangement, which we may make public very soon. In the US as well, the announcement made yesterday is a big boost for us. It energises the team because the products were ready and waiting to be exported,” Roy said, adding that Exide will ramp up shipments once the final details of the tariff changes are available.
Roy later told reporters that the company is expecting incremental export revenue of about ₹400–500 crore. He added that lower import duties are expected to lift demand for luxury vehicles in India, which should, in turn, support higher demand for premium replacement batteries.
The board has approved a further investment of ₹1,400 crore in wholly owned subsidiary Exide Energy Solutions Limited, which is setting up a greenfield multi-gigawatt lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility in southern India.
Roy said demand for lead-acid batteries remains healthy, supported by rising automotive OEM offtake, steady growth in the aftermarket, increasing adoption of solar energy solutions and higher power backup requirements among customers.
Exide expects its topline to reach ₹20,000 crore over the next three years and scale up to ₹25,000 crore by 2030, driven by the full play-out of its lithium-ion battery business.
