Lead-acid batteries are among the world’s safest and most reliable energy storage devices. A lead-acid (Pb) [the symbol Pb from the Latin Plumbum] battery is a rechargeable battery that consists of negative lead and positive lead dioxide electrodes placed into the sulfuric acid electrolyte.

Invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté, the lead-acid battery has evolved extensively in the scope of applications—from electric vehicles, electric wheelchairs, and home security systems to motorcycles, boats, and industrial lift trucks.

Lead-acid batteries are among the most widely used batteries because they are reliable, less expensive, easy to maintain, and environmentally sustainable.

While there are many manufacturers of lead-acid batteries, some stand out for their market share, market strategy, scale, and product innovation in the ever-evolving battery market.

Read on to learn more about the top 5 lead-acid battery manufacturers in the world.

Top 5 Lead-Acid Battery Manufacturers (2025)

Here are the top 5 lead-acid car battery manufacturers in the world listed in alphabetical order.

Clarios (formerly Johnson Controls)

Clarios is the former power solutions division of Johnson Controls—following the sale of the unit to private equity firm Brookfield Business Partners LP. Clarios is the leading aftermarket and original equipment (OE) supplier with the broadest portfolio of batteries.

As the forerunner of the most advanced battery technologies and a global leader with 130+ years of experience in battery manufacturing, Clarios produces more than 150 million batteries every year and powers 1 in 3 of the world’s vehicles.

Clarios is the world’s largest lead-acid battery manufacturer. Clarios’ product portfolio includes:

• Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) batteries

• Flooded (Enhanced flooded and Standard flooded) batteries

While absorbent glass mat batteries are advanced performance batteries developed to meet functional safety needs precisely, the flooded batteries support basic starting power and demand for the conventional small to mid-size engine.

Key growth strategies have helped Clarios extend its footprint to 140+ countries and 50+ manufacturing, recycling, and distribution centers. Clarios also fosters global R&D collaboration with 6 dedicated R&D facilities and 16 R&D partnerships.

In August 2023, Clarios battery brand announced the acquisition of Paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA's power business. It is a strategic move by the company to develop its advanced lithium-ion programs through Paragon's expertise. 

In January 2025, Clarios International Inc. launched a loan deal for paying a USD 4.5 billion dividend to its private equity owners. 

East Penn Manufacturing

East Penn Manufacturing (East Penn) is a family-owned company with the world’s largest single-site lead-acid battery manufacturing facility. East Penn’s pioneering Form, Fit, and Function of AGM battery technology successfully met the unique criteria of the automotive industry

The company is the second-largest provider of SLI batteries in North America.

East Penn’s electronic application guide can help you quickly find the right battery for your vehicle. The battery’s overall power system depends on the ability of the plate to store and deliver power.

East Penn’s POWER-PERFORM® PLATES are more efficient than other plates due to a full-frame structure, enhanced crystallization of the active material, low-resistance current path grids, and revolutionary paste adhesion techniques.

Some of the notable East Penn battery brands include:

• Deka

• Intimidator

• MK Battery

 In March 2025, East Penn Manufacturing announced the launch of its new Deka Ready Power product line at the ProMat 2025 show in Chicago, Illinois.  These batteries are designed for heavy-duty environments to provide maintenance-free power with reduced downtime. These batteries support Motive Power applications by offering Lithium and Gel technologies. 

EnerSys

EnerSys is a well-known global leader in stored energy solutions. EnerSys portfolio serves over 10,000 customers in 100 countries.

Some of the famous EnerSys battery brands include:

• ABSL

• Cyclon

• DataSafe

• Express

• Fiamm Motive Power

• GAZ

• Genesis

• Hawker

• IRONCLAD

• NexSys

• Odyssey

• Oerlikon

• OptiGrid

• Powerbloc

• PowerSafe

• Quallion

• SuperSafe

In the context of Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) battery technology, EnerSys has been working on next-generation lead-acid batteries with a greater emphasis on prolonging battery life and minimizing TCO.

TPPL has a broad range of application scenarios, including data centers, public transportation, telecommunication infrastructure, materials handling and logistics, and military and commercial vehicles.

The EnerSys future roadmap for lead-acid batteries envisions performance improvement using a thinner electrode, higher temperature applications with new plastics, and enhanced rechargeability using additives like carbon.

Moreover, adding electronic components will focus on features, such as state of charge, state of health, and remote monitoring.

In July 2024, Enersys acquired Bren-Tronics to expand its presence in defense applications. It purchased Bren-Tronics for an all-cash transition of USD 208 million. 

Exide Industries Limited

In 1888, W. W. Gibbs founded the Electric Storage Battery Company—Exide’s predecessor company. Exide Technologies (Exide) has been a trusted supplier of lead-acid batteries to carmakers for over 100 years.

Exide was the first to introduce Start-Stop technology to the European market in 2004. In fact, 70% of European car brands work with Exide batteries. The company provides a wide range of battery solutions for transportation, motive power, and network power. It is also one of the leading lithium-ion battery manufacturers in India.

Moreover, Exide’s ‘Battery Finder’ helps you find agriculture, ATV, boat, bus, car, construction, jet ski, motorcycle, snowmobile, truck, and other batteries by:

• Country-specific license plate number, VIN number (car), and battery part or cross-reference number

• Vehicle and model

• Battery specs

Innovation at Exide reflects the company’s rich history of 130 years in the battery industry. Exide’s industry partner—The Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI)—is an international R&D group dedicated to enhancing lead-acid battery capabilities to ensure competitiveness in diverse energy storage markets.

Some of the renowned Exide battery brands include:

• Centra

• DETA

• Exide 

• Fulmen

• Sønnak

• Tudor

In 2022, Exide Industries approved the merger of its subsidiary Chloride Power into the parent company.

In 2024, Exide Energy Solutions signed a MoU with Hyundai Motors and Kia Corporation for the development of India's EV market. Under this MoU, the companies will supply battery cells for Hyundai Motor's electric vehicles dedicated to the market. 

GS Yuasa

With over 100 years of battery-manufacturing experience, GS Yuasa has expertise in manufacturing batteries for various applications, including automotive batteries, industrial batteries, and high-performance batteries for deep-sea research and space development.

The founders of GS Yuasa are Genzo Shimadzu and Shichizaemon Yuasa. GS Yuasa started the production of automotive lead-acid batteries in 1919. It was formed through an merger of Yuasa Corporation and Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd. The Automotive Batteries (Overseas) business unit manages manufacturing and sales of lead-acid batteries for automobiles, motorcycles, and industrial use in countries across the world, such as China, Indonesia, and Thailand.

The Industrial Batteries and Power Supplies business unit manufactures and sells lead-acid batteries for forklifts (and other motor-driven vehicles) and lighting equipment (and other products).

This car battery manufacturer specializes in developing, producing, and selling automotive lead-acid batteries. The company has also established a Global Technical Center for R&D of lead-acid batteries.

Furthermore, GS Yuasa Asia Technical Center Ltd. helps with the design, development, and performance evaluation of lead-acid batteries for locations in ASEAN and neighboring countries.

The mass adoption of automobiles, innovations in battery production technology, and a stronger production system are the key drivers behind the company’s production of advanced and maintenance-free batteries.

GS Yuasa is committed to ‘Monozukuri’ and building a sustainable society through battery research and development work.

GS Yuasa offers an amazing range of automotive and motorcycle batteries, among other products.

GS Yuasa’s automotive batteries include:

JIS

• Y5 for general passenger cars

• EPIY for start and stop cars

• EPY (VRLA) for Toyota’s hybrid cars

• EPY for commercial vehicles

EN

• Y6 for general passenger cars

JIS and DIN

• For general passenger cars or commercial vehicles

GS Yuasa’s motorcycle battery catalog includes:

• GYZ high-performance maintenance-free AGM

• YTZ high-performance maintenance-free AGM

• YTX & YIX high-performance maintenance-free AGM

In 2025, GS Yuasa had a successful exhibition at Data Centre World London 2025, where they presented Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) and lithium-ion battery solutions. It has also showcased its Yuasa and GS battery ranges in the exhibition.

Types and Applications of Lead-Acid Batteries

Now that we’ve seen the top 5 lead-acid battery manufacturers, let’s look at the types and applications of lead-acid batteries.

Two major lead-acid battery types include:

• Flooded lead-acid batteries

• Sealed lead-acid batteries (VRLA battery or Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid battery)

While a flooded lead-acid battery (wet lead-acid battery) has removable caps for topping up with distilled water, a sealed lead-acid battery is sealed at the top with no access to the inside compartment.

As the electrolyte is sealed inside, the battery can sustain a calculated number of cycles without the need to add distilled water. 

Applications of lead-acid batteries include:

• Transportation

• Motive Power

• Reserve Power

It is estimated that 70% of lead-acid batteries are used for vehicles, 21% for communications, and 4% for other applications.

The most commonly used lead-acid battery in automobiles is the Starting, Lighting, and Ignition (SLI) battery. Smaller than industrial batteries, SLI batteries are designed to start, run, and maintain the energy-consuming processes of an automobile.

Motive power batteries are used in cleaning machines, electric material-handling trucks (aerial work platforms, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), forklift trucks, and pallet trucks), and other industrial battery-powered or hybrid vehicles.

Reserve power batteries are used in general electronics, IT, telecommunications, utilities, uninterruptible power supplies, and specialty applications requiring standby power.

There is a suitable lead-acid battery pack for a broad range of applications—from automotive and marine to power sports and floor care equipment.

How do Lead-acid Batteries Compare to Lithium-ion Batteries?

High energy per unit mass makes a lithium-ion battery an ideal choice for stationary power, automotive, and portable consumer electronics (mobile phones, laptops, etc.) applications.

Other appealing features include a high power-to-weight ratio and high energy efficiency. However, high cost, overheating-related safety risk, and significant environmental impact are the main disadvantages of lithium-ion batteries.

A lead-acid battery is inexpensive, reliable, safe, and environmentally sustainable. According to Battery University, “97 percent of lead-acid batteries are recycled in the United States.”

Compared to a lithium-ion battery, a lead-acid battery is an excellent recyclable product with recycling and reuse rate exceeding 99%. However, there are certain limitations, such as poor cold-temperature performance, low specific energy, and short cycle life.

Conclusion

In conclusion, lead-acid batteries are still a popular choice for many applications. What sets lead-acid batteries apart from other battery chemistries? Affordability, reliability, recyclability, and safety make them a great option in the battery business. 

Despite the higher market share of lithium-ion batteries compared to lead-acid batteries in the overall global battery market, growing automotive and other applications will push the demand for lead-acid batteries in the battery business.

Mature lead-acid battery technology, low manufacturing cost, an impressive range of sizes and specifications, and strong surge capabilities, among other benefits make lead-acid batteries scalable and sustainable.

Top lead-acid battery manufacturers are meeting the varied needs of their customers across the world with high-quality lead-acid batteries.

Furthermore, the soaring requirements for reliable and efficient power supply and environmentally sustainable battery technology are sure to lead the way in increasing lead-acid battery use and recycling

Is the lead-acid battery industry on an upward trend?

Going by the continued economic recovery as well as market size, value, and growth rates—this is a promising time with great opportunities ahead for lead-acid battery manufacturers.

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