January 13, 2025: Hyundai is to become the first automaker to deploy ‘made-in-India’ AGM tech in partnership with Indian battery giant Amara Raja Energy & Mobility.

Hyundai Motor India will equip its domestic cars range with Amara Raja’s AGM batteries, to be used as an SLI battery, as part of an existing procurement deal.

The vehicles are set to be equipped with the batteries during the 2024-2025 financial year — which in India ends in March 2025.

Amara Raja confirmed the agreement in a stock exchange announcement on December 19.

The move is in line with the commitment by Hyundai to supporting locally-sourced innovative technologies for Indian customers, the battery maker said.

Quantities of batteries to be provided under the agreement were not disclosed. However, Amara Raja said the batteries had successfully outperformed conventional ‘complete maintenance free’ batteries by about 150% in rigorous real-world durability tests.

“With a wider operational temperature and longer life span, AGM batteries are an apt fit for dynamic Indian driving conditions,” the company said.

The batteries offer quick charging, longevity, low self-discharge, minimal maintenance and are ideally suited for vehicles with ISG (idle-stop-and-go) systems.

“A smoother start and better energy efficiency for higher electrical load in modern cars, are some of the added benefits of this technology.”

Hyundai’s chief manufacturing officer Gopalakrishnan Chathapuram Sivaramakrishnan, said: “We are poised to become the first auto original equipment manufacturer in India to introduce indigenously manufactured AGM battery technology in its products.”

The car maker has an existing production plant in Chennai and is pushing ahead with plans for another plant in Talegaon, Maharashtra.