Luminous enters car batteries space,to serve only after-market

Schneider Electric-owned energy- storage major Luminous Power Technologies is eyeing 5 percent of the Rs 6,000-crore after-market car batteries business over the next three years with its latest vertical of auto batteries. Called Luminous Carmax batteries, the Delhi-based company which is the leader in inverters/UPS market with over 20 percent of the market pie, will price the product competitively in a market that prices in the Rs 3,500-6,000 range and will not be tapping the car companies but only the after-market.

"We have just entered the car batteries space with Luminous Carmax, which is available with our 60,000 dealers from this month. We hope to corner 5 percent of the Rs 6,000- crore after-sales car batteries market over the next three years," Vipul Sabharwal, managing director, told PTI. When pointed to the deepening crisis in the auto space, he said they are entering the segment with an asset light model and not tapping the carmakers.

"Considering the poor market condition, and also our focus on an asset-light model, I think the time is not bad, to begin with. Also, we've no plans to service the OEMs or manufacture of the batteries. We've tied up with a contract manufacturer and will be tapping only the after-market. We'll take a call on making batteries over the next 10-15 years." When asked about entering the lead-acid battery segment which is on its way out considering the focus on more environmental-friendly lithium-ion batteries, Sabharwal said, there is still room for lead-acid batteries as the latter is yet to gain traction in the country and expects this market to grow at 15 percent annually over the next few years. The car batteries will be made with advanced silver alloy technology for increased performance and longer life as they are maintenance-free with up to 30 percent increased cold starting power, he said.

On other businesses, Sabharwal said the company enjoys 12 percent market share in the residential roof-top solar power segment, adding the inverter business is doing well with double-digit growth. Despite the slowdown in the market due to increased power supply, Sabharwal is confident of the inverter space growing further, saying as people consume more electricity, they will seek to get uninterrupted power, which is where our role kicks in.

Currently, it enjoys over 20 percent market share in the segment. On the revenue side, he expects to close the year with an overall 7-8 percent growth over Rs 3,700 crore topline clocked in FY19.

Luminous is the leader in home electrical and power storage segment for the past three decades, selling over 2.5 million batteries annually and has already installed over 7.50 million home UPS systems. Its portfolio of power solutions include home UPS, batteries, stabilizers, solar solutions to home electrical offerings such as fans, LED lighting, wires & switches.

Luminous employs over 6,000 people and runs seven plants, and is present in over 36 countries..