The opportunities in 12V battery sales
Despite its familiarity and presence as a staple product to your workshop customers, the 12V battery market is still undergoing developments that you should be aware of to fully exploit the opportunities they provide, according to Ecobat Battery.
First to the basics: despite the growth in sales of full battery electric vehicles (BEVs), the primary reason for their breakdown is shared with their combustion engine powered cousins – and that’s failure of the 12V battery; in fact, it has become such an issue for BEV manufacturers, that the 12V battery is becoming a three-year replacement item, something that has become a comparative rarity for conventionally powered vehicles.
However, many workshops remain reluctant to undertake even the basic training which would allow them the option to service these vehicles, so that even a simple low voltage battery swap is work being lost to the franchised dealer.
Therefore, Ecobat Battery is raising the issue to encourage your workshop customers to engage with the BEV community and also consider the profile of your own battery stock – to ensure it reflects the developments that are underway.
Test every battery
Looking at vehicles generically, irrespective of their powertrain, Ecobat Battery has long championed the ‘test every battery’ message to independent workshops, not only as a means of tackling the problems inherent with vehicles that are often driven less than in the past and, therefore, may have a seriously discharged battery under the bonnet, but also as a profit opportunity for their businesses – but who pays attention?
As reported in the last issue of PMF, Silver Street Motors in Tiverton, a regular Motor Parts Direct customer, took on the challenge. At the start of the year, its owner Steve Webber and MPD’s Tiverton Business Development Manager, Terry Back, met with Ecobat Battery’s Andy Waite to launch a trial demonstrating both the customer service and sales potential of battery testing.
The trial provided an Ecobat EBT780 battery tester and Lucas-branded point-of-sale materials, including posters and interior mirror cards showing battery health. In return, Steve and his team committed to testing every vehicle’s battery, regardless of the reason for its workshop visit.
Three months later, Terry and Andy visited Steve to find out how he’d got on and were delighted. Indeed, both were vindicated in their positive predictions, to find that the principle had helped with both building stronger customer relationships and growing battery sales.
Steve, initially sceptical about testing every vehicle battery, found the process simple and easy to implement alongside other workshop tasks. By showing customers the results of the battery test – whether good, declining, or bad – he was able to demonstrate value and build trust. While not every vehicle with a poor reading leads to a replacement, the initiative has significantly increased battery sales compared with the same period last year.
From Ecobat Battery’s perspective, the trial confirmed expectations: around 30% of vehicles entering independent workshops need battery recharge or reconditioning, and roughly 10% require replacement.
Monitoring battery trends, such as the shift from traditional SLI to AGM/EFB batteries, allows both you and your workshop customers to manage stock effectively and maximise revenue, despite the longer lifespan of newer battery types.
The initiative benefits workshops, suppliers and the wider independent service sector by retaining replacement opportunities and supporting ongoing profitability.
