The US-based Exide Corporation, a global pioneering battery manufacturer, has officially launched its operations in Dubai and has targeted regional sales of $6.25 million this year.
Exide batteries, manufactured in the UAE, have been officially introduced in Dubai, with more than 200 dealers and representatives of the Exide Corporation, Exide Middle East and Al Kharbash Group, Exide’s authorized distributor for the UAE. Previously, the International Office of Exide Corporation was responsible for Middle East operations, and Exide batteries imported from the United States were available in the UAE.
Exide decided to establish a $5 million manufacturing facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone last year, reported Khaleej Times. Exide Corporation owns 51 percent of the new facility, with Surrender Singh Kandhari controlling the remaining 49 percent. The unit has an installed capacity to produce 75,000 batteries annually in three shifts. The batteries will include the entire vehicle range manufactured in Japan, the United States, Europe and Asia. At present, only one shift is operational.
Based on numbers of vehicles, the battery market in the Middle East was estimated at 3.5 million units last year. Saudi Arabia’s share includes 1.5 million batteries, with the UAE representing 400,000 units. Exide presently sells 30,000 and 50,000 batteries per year in the UAE and Saudi Arabia respectively. This year’s target is to sell 250,000 batteries in the region, up by more than 250 percent from last year’s 70,000.
Gulf News added that Exide began test marketing in Saudi Arabia last year. The decision to enter the UAE and the rest of the Middle East was prompted by its success in Saudi Arabia. There are presently five battery brands in the Middle East, and Exide reports that it plans to become the leading player in the market.
The US-based company has 30 plants internationally, employing 18,000 people in the United States, Europe and Asia. In 1999, Exide’s aggregate turnover amounted to $3.5 billion. Exide’s 29 percent share of the global battery market makes it the leading player. It is followed by Yuasa (15 percent), Matsushita (10 percent), Hawker (8 percent), JSB (8 percent), Delco (6 percent) and Varta (5 percent).
Exide’s international customers include Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Volvo, and the U.S. army tank division, for which it manufactures special batteries. –(Albawaba-MEBG)
