New Varta CV Battery

Varta has added a new 180 amp/hour SHD (Super Heavy Duty) battery, suitable for numerous European heavy truck applications, to its advanced calcium-silver PROmotive range. This range offers 70 per cent coverage of the European commercial vehicle market and, says Varta, it is the first range of 100 per cent, maintenance-free HGV batteries to incorporate the innovative, calcium-silver technology.

Among the benefits for truck and bus operators are reduced maintenance costs, better starting performance, up to 50 per cent longer service life and improved safety, thanks to a labyrinth battery lid.

Varta Product Manager Tony Miller made the point that, with so many electrical consumers fitted to today’s vehicles, it is hardly surprising that conventional lead acid batteries struggle to cope and may fail prematurely. He says: “When a truck breaks down due to battery failure, the costs are considerable. As well as roadside assistance and replacement battery costs, there is time off road, missed deliveries, possible loss of cargo in the case of refrigerated loads and customer dissatisfaction.”

The calcium-silver technology in the PROmotive range means fewer replacements and reduced downtime, says Varta, while a PowerCheck monitor built into the lid allows operators to keep a check on the battery’s condition. Based on the average service life of a commercial vehicle battery, Varta calculates that fitting PROmotive batteries would save £30-£40 per battery on regular maintenance costs.