Exide Technologies has entered a new contract with Toyota Motor Corp. for the sale of 105,000 more batteries each year to the carmaker. The deal also boosts the battery company’s shares. In a statement by Exide, the lead-acid starting batteries will go into the Highlander, a mid-size crossover SUV, built at Toyota’s plant in Princeton, Ind. Ishita Manjrekar, an analyst at Primary Global Research, regards the deal as “welcome news” for Exide. It isn’t a huge figure but it indicates an industry turnaround. Exide’s relationship with Toyota started in 1988. Currently, Exide supplies batteries for the carmaker’s North American-produced Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Matrix and Venza, as well as its Sequoia SUV and Tundra trucks. The company is among the world’s top producers of traditional lead-acid batteries for automakers along with Johnson Controls Inc. and GS Yuasa Corp. Earlier this month, Exide launched a new division to develop new renewable energy storage and lithium-ion energy systems, joining a market that is expected to take off.

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Tags:car news, Toyota, toyota highlander, toyota highlander exide batteries, toyota highlander news, toyotahighlander
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