Choose the right car battery with new Varta branded range

A new range of replacement car batteries has been launched by market leading manufacturer Johnson Controls to provide an easy to understand power solution for vehicles of every age and technical complexity.

The well known VARTA branded BLUE DYNAMIC battery, which fits 80 per cent of all cars on UK roads, is joined by an even more powerful SILVER DYNAMIC battery suitable for the latest high specification models and a BLACK DYNAMIC battery targeted at cars over seven years old.

All use calcium silver technology to ensure compatibility with batteries fitted as original equipment by most vehicle manufacturers since the late 1990s.

Fitting the right battery has taken on a new significance in today’s sophisticated car market. Many motorists now retrofit power sapping accessories such as DVD players, iPod and portable satellite navigation systems, but evidence suggests that this can lead to premature battery failure.

RAC patrols attending more than half the call outs in 2006 believe the use of in-car accessories has resulted in more flat batteries. Most recent SMMT statistics show that sales of retrofit satellite navigation and in-car entertainment grew between 2001 – 2005 from 100,000 to almost 1.9 million units.

Johnson Controls warns that unless owners fitting these accessories upgrade their batteries to the same specification that would have been used by the vehicle manufacturer had the accessories been factory fitted, it could lead to premature battery failure.

“The growing number of standard accessories in new cars and subsequent retro-fitted equipment are putting a strain on car batteries,” says Johnson Controls Product Manager Tony Miller, “and some of the worst offenders are sat nav, high power stereo and DVD entertainment systems.

“Even when cars are parked, many electronic devices continue to draw power after the ignition is switched off, and can slowly discharge a battery to a point where it cannot easily be recharged by just driving the car,” he stresses, “and the dramatic growth in sales of diesel-engined cars, which require more starting power than petrol variants, has brought further pressure to bear.”

By 1999 Johnson Controls had significantly enhanced the specification of batteries supplied to car manufacturers as OE to cope with a higher level of electrical consumers such as air conditioning, electric seats and more powerful sound systems by then being fitted as standard. The BLUE DYNAMIC range is built to the same spec as these OE batteries.

The power requirements of older cars, and there are over six million cars aged six to nine years old in the UK, can be met by the new BLACK DYNAMIC range, which is compatible with OE batteries supplied by Johnson Controls to European car manufacturers in the mid-nineties.

Each succeeding generation of new models brings even more sophisticated electronics to the market place – from adaptive vehicle control and electric power steering to satellite navigation and idrive systems.

The newly launched SILVER DYNAMIC is designed to meet the demands of these recently introduced cars. This heavy duty specification battery is also suitable for cars retro-fitted with additional electrical equipment such as portable satellite navigation systems and DVD players, plus diesel models.

“We supply every leading vehicle manufacturer in Europe,” adds Tony Miller, “so Johnson Controls is better qualified than any other manufacturer to exactly match the specification of its replacement products to current and anticipated demand.”