Results unveiled from Johnson Controls VARTA® Battery Test-Check Program

• Every fourth vehicle has a weak battery
• 85% of drivers need support to service their vehicle
• 8 out of 10 car drivers trust their workshop’s recommendations
• Start-stop technology enters battery replacement market

Hanover/ Frankfurt, September 14, 2016. Johnson Controls, the world’s largest automotive battery manufacturer, unveiled the current results from its VARTA Battery Test-Check Program at Automechanika 2016. Launched last year in select European countries, the initiative supports workshops in detecting battery issues before they happen.

Of the more than 33.000 vehicles tested, almost a quarter had batteries that needed to be replaced immediately because they were so weak.

“Testing a battery’s state of charge should become a routine part of service in workshops”, explained Florence Bailleul, vice president and general manager Aftermarket EMEA. “We want to save drivers from unwanted breakdowns or underperformance of certain vehicle functions.”

Johnson Controls also researched how the automotive repair market is evolving from a do-it-yourself to a do-it-for-me business model. Findings show 85 percent of European car drivers need support to service their car at workshops and eight out of ten drivers trust their mechanics’ recommendations for battery service.

“We want to lead the way in helping workshops maintain and even grow those numbers as new technology, such as start-stop vehicles with Absorbent Glass Mat batteries, begin to come into the replacement market,” said Joseph Walicki, vice president and president of Johnson Controls Power Solutions.

The company estimates that by 2020, 75 percent of all new vehicles in Europe will feature start-stop technology.

Advanced batteries are critical in start-stop systems. When the engine is off, the vehicle’s electrical system uses its energy to maintain functions like radios, lights and heating. The battery also supports the restart of the engine in a fraction of a second. All of this has changed the role of the battery substantially, making professionally trained technicians more critical than ever before.

“Johnson Controls is advancing the service levels of workshops by providing battery fitment guidelines and proper replacement trainings,” said Bailleul. “When workshops develop into battery experts they can provide additional benefits to their customers and have a competitive advantage in an evolving marketplace.”

In addition, more components in vehicles require power- such as safety systems for example. Driver assist, active stabilization and automatic braking all require more energy, making the battery in your vehicle critical to advanced powertrains.

“Because Johnson Controls understands the automotive technologies of tomorrow, we can help prepare our aftermarket customers for upcoming market trends today,” said Walicki.

For more information please contact:

Johnson Controls Power Solutions EMEA

Anja Heidmann
Am Leineufer 51
30419 Hannover
Tel: +49 (0)511 975 1032

E-Mail: anja.heidmann@jci.com