April 3, 2026: GS Yuasa has announced a price increase of at least 10% for certain lead acid traction batteries, related parts and EV chargers sold in the Japanese market.

Yuasa said on March 27 the company had been forced to revise prices in the face of surging costs of raw material costs, energy and logistics.

The battery maker’s Tokyo Stock Exchange announcement said the increase would apply to orders received in Japan starting in April.

The cost of materials including iron, steel, plastics and non-ferrous metals such as copper has continued to increase steeply over the past two years, Yuasa said.

Global markets instability has also contributed to rising costs — including maintaining the supply chain needed for sustainable production, the company said.

Yuasa said it had made diligent efforts to drive down costs and improve production efficiency and would continue to do so. 

“However, we have determined that it is difficult to maintain conventional prices through corporate efforts alone. In order to build strong, long-term partnerships with our customers and business partners through mid-to-long term product development, maintaining a stable supply of products, promoting technological innovation, and improving services, we have decided to implement a price revision.”

Yuasa announced a similar price hike three years ago for lead and lithium ion batteries and other products sold in Japan because of increased raw material costs.