Exide is expanding its coverage of the Irish car parc, with new AGM and ECM batteries. The new products cover vehicles from VW, Audi, Toyota, Ford and a slew of other brands. The battery giant is prioritising makes and models with the most promising growth trajectory, and positioning its resellers to capture more market share as the car parc evolves.

Micro-hybrids are the fastest growing segment of the car parc. Production levels have already soared past 40% in Europe, and will reach 60% by 2015. The shift is going to create winners and losers in the aftermarket, and Exide believes its resellers are set to come out on top.

Exide’s AGM batteries have around three times the lifecycle durability of standard batteries. They are “parts of matching quality,” and are designed for cars with start-stop and regenerative braking systems. They are also used in standard vehicles to increase endurance and performance.

Exide’s AGM batteries now cover the Audi A1, A4, A5 and Q5, the BMW 5, 6, 7, X5 and X6, the VW Golf, Polo and Touareg, and a range of other vehicles.

Exide’s ECM batteries will now cover the Ford Fiesta, Galaxy, Focus, Mondeo, B-Max, C-Max and S-Max, and a range of other models including the Toyota iQ and Mazda CX-5.

Last year Exide launched Synergy, its programme to simplify battery replacement. The battery giant shared the views of its customers with many of the diagnostic equipment providers, and it has developed a new battery replacement tool of its own.

The BRT-12 handles battery replacement, clears faults from the dashboard and displays current battery details. Exide also plans to release new updates to cover more vehicles as the market develops. When new updates are released, customers can plug the tool into a PC and download free updates.

Exide Resellers will receive the new AGM and ECM catalogue over the coming weeks, and the new data has already been added to Autocat+, TechDOC, Exide’s online catalogue and its iPhone app.