Exide and Amara Raja race to earn back $1 billion in battery cell spending

what happened

India's two largest battery producers, Exide Industries and Amara Raja Energy & Mobility, are speeding up work at their lithium-ion cell plants, Moody's reports. Investors want returns on more than $1 billion of spending: Exide has put in $632 million so far, Amara Raja $248 million, and this month it approved another $247 million.

Exide has started booking revenue from LFP cells that go into e-rickshaw packs and are sold to telecom operators. Amara Raja is betting first on grid energy storage systems. Both are behind schedule. Exide originally planned to begin its initial 6 GWh by FY25, and reached that level only in September 2026, while Amara Raja's first 2 GWh line now has a target date of Q2 FY28.

Neither company has firm supply contracts with automakers yet, as preliminary deals with Hyundai-Kia and Ather have not become orders. Industry executives say switching to domestic cell suppliers takes roughly a year of testing, and local cells may initially cost 20-30% more than Chinese ones.

why it matters

Amara Raja shares are down 18% year to date, Exide is up 6%, and the Nifty Auto index has barely moved at +0.15%. Investors will watch the timing of the first large automaker orders, since the plants are already built and carry running costs. Whether local cells can win share from Chinese suppliers will depend on price and how long validation takes.

market impact

Exide and Amara Raja shares: delayed output and missing large orders weigh on revenue expectations

• ▼Amara Raja Energy & Mobility shares pressure down — delayed cell output and pending customer approvals weigh on revenue expectations
• ↔Exide Industries shares mixed — LFP cell sales have started, but large automaker orders remain unconfirmed

tags

instruments