Japan Auto Battery Makers Seek More Than 20% Hike

Japanese automotive replacement battery makers increase the selling price one after another when lead ingot international price increases to near twice level compared with February, when they increased the battery price. The makers try to pass the higher cost price in August when they cannot absorb the higher cost only by own effort.GS Yuasa Corporation increases the price by more than 20% while Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery and Furukawa Battery increase the price by more than 25%. Panasonic Storage Battery is also expected to announce the hike.GS Yuasa and Furukawa Battery increased the price by 20% before while Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery increased the price by 18-25%. However, they failed to get the hike when they were forced to reduce the output by more than 10% due to warm winter slump.