Exide Obtains Injunction Against Standard Batteries

Exide Industries, the country's largest automotive battery manufacturer, has obtained an injunction from the Delhi High Court against the controversial ad campaign of its main competitor, the B M Khaitan-controlled Standard Batteries.

The suit was filed by the Rajan Raheja-controlled Exide Industries against Standard Batteries and their advertising agency Chaitra Leo Burnett for a `misleading' advertisement

The Delhi High Court has restrained Standard Batteries, its employees or agents from further publishing the objectionable and disparaging advertisement.

The next date for hearing has been fixed as April 24, 1997.

The latest ad campaign by the makers of Standard Furukawa batteries had depicted that its competitor, Exide's technology was exclusively suitable for Ambassador cars while its own technology matches the needs of all up-market models of Ford, Opel Astra, Mercedes Benz and Maruti Esteem.

The press advertisement had also sparked off a lot of debate whether it is ethical for an ad campaign to cast aspersions and make direct references to its competitor.

The court has also asked Standard Batteries not to issue any other similar or other advertisement or statements making disparaging references directly or indirectly to Exide brand, its product, or technology in any manner

The court has also restrained Standard Batteries from infringing or in any other way using the registered trade mark of Exide (bearing No. 366539) by using the said mark or any other deceptively similar word in their advertisement or in any other way in pursuance of their commercial operation including promotional activities in respect of automotive batteries till the next hearing

A source at the Exide Industries said, We had appealed to the Delhi High Court against the advertisement since it is highly unethical and misleading. Exide is the largest supplier of automotive batteries to the new models of cars which have entered the country recently.

Unlike what has been stated in the advertisement, all our new clients from General Motors India, the makers of Opel Astra models, to Mercedes Benz

have expressed satisfaction about the performance of our batteries. he said.

Exide Industries, with manufacturing facilities at Haldia, Shyamnagar and Hosur, is the largest domestic automotive battery manufacturer with a 65 per cent share of the organised sector. The company has a production capacity of 2.8 million units.

Standard Batteries, on the other hand, is the second largest player in this business, and has a technical tie-up with Furukawa Batteries of Japan. The company, with a production capacity of one million batteries, has its manufacturing facility at Taloja in Maharashtra.