Battery and low-voltage architecture specialist Clarios has announced its intention to purchase Paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA’s power business, which produces batteries and battery management systems for the automotive industry. The company has not disclosed details of the transaction but will share additional information on how this acquisition fits its long-term vision for low-voltage vehicle architecture during this week’s IAA Mobility Conference.
Varta ran a conference focusing on commercial vehicle (CV) battery technology at the iconic British Motor Museum on 14 June.
With the requirements of heavy-duty batteries changing to meet the modern needs of logistics, fleet and transport industries, Varta has developed a high-end range of enhanced flooded (EFB) and absorbent glass mat (AGM) batteries, to deliver improved reliability, protection from vibration, and reduce total cost of ownership.
In addition to our live social media reporting and reporting the highlights of the 2022 Tyre Industry Conference in last month’s magazine, the December edition of Tyres & Accessories brings you curated coverage of the NTDA chairman and chief executive speeches as part of our “Looking back, Looking forward” review-of-the-year feature. With so much having taken place within the tyre market, the nation and the world as a whole, the two speeches offer a distinctly tyre distribution perspective on key issues relating to the associations growing membership, how it is developing relationships with other trade and charitable bodies and how it is investing in the future of the business via training initiatives.
The producer of one in every three car batteries in use around the world has announced a new safety critical battery for electric vehicles. Clarios Smart AGM will monitor its performance in real-time, deliver continuous low-voltage power to optimise performance of the low-voltage power supply, anticipate the need for battery maintenance and provide safety critical operations.
Battery manufacturer Varta AG has enlarged its executive board to include Rainer Hald, the company’s 52-year-old Chief Technology Officer (CTO) as the third member of the body alongside Armin Hessenberger (CFO) and the Chairman, Herbert Schein (CEO) effective 1 January 2022.
The battery experts at Varta are issuing advice to vehicle drivers around the risks and complexity of attempting a DIY battery replacement in this age of increasingly complex cars. Varta say that its new awareness campaign seeks to dispel the myth that changing a battery continues to be the easy DIY task it was through previous decades. The advice from Varta is to do their research and if possible, to proactively seek battery fitting options, and if in any doubt, to check in with their local independent garage before attempting a battery change themselves.
VARTA brand ambassador Andy Savva explains the importance of replacing a car battery with the same type of technology (or upgrading) and advises never to downgrade technologies. When it comes to vehicles with a start/stop system, it’s essential that an Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) or Enhanced Flooded Battery (EFB) is fitted, as a traditional, conventional flooded battery would not cope with the vastly increased number of engine starts – and not last very long.
VARTA has joined The Original Equipment Suppliers Aftermarket Association (OESAA) in the UK. Technical sales manager at VARTA, Andy Cook, has confirmed the new association with the organisation, saying: “Clarios, the Company behind the VARTA brand, is the largest battery manufacturer in the world, and that status naturally comes with longstanding and successful OE partnerships on a global basis, so joining OESSA makes perfect sense for us. Our new membership will help us support the independent garage further, especially in the area of new technology, where we have battery expertise on features like start-stop, where 8 out of 10 start-stop cars fitted with an AGM technology battery, is one of ours.”
Ecobat Battery Technologies has followed the launch of its One Box start-stop battery testing and installation solution with a new training, assessment and certification. The first step is a comprehensive video, viewable below, hosted by Ecobat’s Christopher Jones. This offers a step-by-step guide to battery assessment, removal, replacement and validation processes. It also introduces the four parts of the One Box package. Together, Ecobat says they allow technicians to tackle start-stop battery replacement with confidence.
The European car parc comprises more than 40,000 different models, which means – according to battery maker Varta – that not even workshop experts are able to identify the right battery for every single one of them. This is where the Varta Partner Portal comes in and provides assistance with finding the right fit. Varta has now updated its reference application database with an additional 7,176 vehicle models from 165 brands, representing 19.8 million additional vehicles on Europe’s roads. The database now covers 94 per cent of the models in the European market and no fewer than 99.6 per cent or 381 million of the registered vehicles. Customers and workshops can now search for 38,000 car models and their batteries on the industry leading Varta Partner Portal (www.varta-automotive.com/en-gb/business-portal).
The fourth annual WhoCanFixMyCar.com awards took place on 13 February 2020, following a year in which more than two million jobs were completed by registered garages. The awards comprised 24 categories, with 118 nominees shortlisted and acknowledged for their excellence out of a network of more than 14,400 garages and mechanics registered on the site. Headline sponsor, battery manufacture Varta attended alongside other members of the WhoCanFixMyCar.com partnership including Shell, Brembo and Hella.
Top Technician has returned for 2020, and round one is now open online. The garage sector competition has been running since 2002, with thousands of people testing their skills in a fun, competitive environment. For the winners, the competition has life-changing potential, according to the organiser, as it puts them on a national stage. Opportunities often follow.
Arctic winds and plummeting temperatures heading towards Britain could lead to an unwelcome spate of battery breakdowns, engineers are cautioning. This summer’s record-breaking temperatures may leave car batteries unable to cope with the cold, as extreme or consistent exposure to heat can have a big impact on automotive batteries.
Varta has introduced its new Silver Dynamic Auxiliary battery range in the UK market to address the increasing electrical loads to support comfort features, safety devices, and fuel-saving functions in modern vehicles. The Silver Dynamic Auxiliary range provides two different technology solutions — AGM and conventional flooded – to support this increasing electrification especially in dual-battery systems.
According to figures released by Varta, long-term battery partner of Ecobat Battery Technologies (EBT), almost 90 per cent of the cars manufactured this year will feature start-stop technology. By 2020, more than 30 per cent of the vehicles entering independent workshops will also be equipped with this technology. All will be fitted with batteries specifically designed for these systems, without which they will malfunction and the battery, potentially fail.
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