Johnson Controls start battery production for Start-Stop vehicles in China

"We're excited to announce the delivery of our first batch of locally-manufactured batteries to power Start-Stop vehicles for local and global automakers in China," said Kenneth Yeng, vice president and general manager, Johnson Controls Power Solutions China. The global Start-Stop market for new vehicles could reach USD 49 million annually by 2020. In China, the company predicts 40 percent of all new vehicles will be Start-Stop in this time frame. "Start-Stop is the best technology to help automakers meet increasingly strict environmental regulations while saving consumers money, as it requires minimal changes to the vehicle and costs significantly less than hybrid or electric vehicles," said Lisa Bahash, group vice president and general manager Original Equipment, Johnson Controls Power Solutions. Regulators in China, Europe, Japan and the United States are putting aggressive fuel economy and carbon emission reduction targets in place for the 2015-2021 time period. Start-Stop has emerged as one of the preferred technologies for meeting these targets by enabling 5 percent fuel economy savings over a conventional vehicle. The technology automatically shuts off the engine when the car is idle and restarts it when the driver's foot leaves the brake pedal. During this time, the vehicle's electrical systems – from entertainment to lights – use energy from an advanced lead-acid battery rather than the gas-powered engine, thus saving fuel.