AD: Amaron’s rise from an unknown brand to a leading car battery player in Malaysia – how did it happen?

The conventional wisdom is that success takes years to build. If you work hard and persevere, you or your brand would eventually make it big. Let’s throw in considerable resources and perhaps a sprinkling of luck into the mix. But every once in awhile, someone bucks the trend.

Amaron in Malaysia is one of these unique success stories. A couple of years ago, no one would have heard of Amaron, but the brand and its green batteries are rather ubiquitous now. Today, the brand that originated in India is a prominent industry player that’s right up there with the established brands, powered by an unprecedented 36-month warranty programme. 

Although Amaron had a strong presence in the Singapore market, to grow the way it did in Malaysia – which consumers are known to be conservative and brand-conscious – is a unique feat. So how did the brand, an unknown upstart just a few years ago, rise to its current level? We pose some burning questions to a spokesman from Tecxus Marketing, the distributor of Amaron.

Q: Describe when and how Amaron penetrated the Malaysian market

A: It was a humble beginning in 2016 where we were given the opportunity to import and promote Amaron batteries in Peninsular Malaysia. Through an established network of great business partners and high quality Amaron batteries, Tecxus Marketing was able to penetrate the market, capturing the quality and premium sector of the automotive battery market.
 
Q: What were the major milestones and hurdles along the way?

A: The major hurdle initially was Amaron being a lesser known brand in the market. Most consumers had not heard of the brand before. However, Amaron has a good following in the Singaporean market with 70% market share there. People in the auto battery trade have heard of the brand, but they’ve never seen it in our market before. They were curious as to why it had become so popular in Singapore. We made that happen.

 
Q: How hard was it to generate positive perception of an Indian brand in Malaysia, seeing as we don’t generally associate India with automotive technology?

A: Indian automotive products were not well known here because there were high import duties for products made in India previously. We were able to introduce the best value in terms of price versus performance and spec, with market-driven pricing.

Generally, our customers are not disappointed. They have found strong battery performance in the little green Amaron batteries and are excited to share the brand with their friends and family. Positive experience with Amaron batteries have had great positive impact on the product adoption locally.

India is the fifth largest automotive market in the world. Their annual new car sales is about seven to eight times larger than Malaysia’s total. They have a very strong automotive industry, and we hope local consumers can learn more about their products through Amaron.

Q: Malaysia is a hot and humid country, and our climate is hard on car batteries. Is it then an advantage that Amaron comes from India, which climate is even more extreme?

A: Definitely. Amaron was able to create a long life product by overcoming the challenges of extreme temperature with its patented Silven-X technology. “Silver-Inside” has been our trump card in product quality.

Summer temperatures in India can reach highs of 40 degrees Celsius, while winter temperatures can be as cold as below 10 degrees in some parts of the country. With more than 20 years of experience, Amaron batteries excel in extreme climates.
 
Q: What was the driving force behind Amaron’s 36-month warranty? Before this, an 18-month warranty was considered ‘extended lifespan’ here in Malaysia.

A: It is the persistent drive of the factory to bring value to consumers. It is also a testament of our product quality in comparison to the competition. The introduction of a 36-month warranty in Malaysia is fully supported and backed by the factory, as Malaysia is Amaron’s first overseas market to roll out such a programme.

 
Q: How much did the 36-month warranty programme help in building customer trust and confidence in Amaron products?

A: It (the warranty programme) is something new in Malaysia. We are extending a similar warranty programme that was introduced in the Indian market 20 years ago. We have further enhanced the programme with the new digital warranty registration and nationwide service centres. This has empowered consumers, giving them full knowledge of the warranty status of their battery. This gives consumers great confidence in the longevity of the product with nationwide after-sales support.

Q: With batteries lasting three years or longer, doesn’t that translate to customers buying less frequently from Amaron, leading to less business?
 
A: It will be a long time before we hit the ceiling. Yes, longer intervals between battery changes is expected when customers buy into the Amaron 36-month warranty programme. As our market share is still relatively low in Malaysia, we still have a long way to grow.

Q: The prices of Amaron batteries have stayed the same over the last few years, even with the extended warranty coverage. Explain this strategy, and if it has had an effect on customer sentiment.

A: Our goal is in sync with the factory. We strive to bring more value added benefits to our customers. We feel that there will be more buy-in of the long warranty program for car batteries and Amaron will set a new benchmark for the market.

Q: Lastly, any special message for Amaron customers in Malaysia?
 
A: We sincerely thank our business partners and customers for your support of Amaron batteries. Your support has granted us an early sweet success. As a responsible supplier, Tecxus Marketing will continue to strive for more benefits and support to our customers. We thank you for your trust.

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