Johnson Controls is expanding its manufacturing operations in China by beginning production of advanced lead-acid batteries for start-stop vehicles to help automakers meet increasingly strict fuel economy and emission regulations.

“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.

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The global start-stop market for new vehicles could reach 49m annually by 2020. In China, the company predicts 40% of all new vehicles will have 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 in the power solutions unit.

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% 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 engine, thus saving fuel.

“Johnson Controls is the world’s leading provider of batteries for start-stop vehicles and we plan to continue to invest in bringing advanced technologies, technical capabilities and capacity to the country in collaboration with our customers,” added Yeng.

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The company recently began making Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFB) at its facility in Changxing, China for use in start-stop vehicles. JCI also has plans to localise production of Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) batteries to support demand for fuel-efficient start-stop technology as part of the company’s complete line of energy storage products.

The supplier launched debuted its 12V Lithium-ion battery for advanced start-stop vehicles at the Shanghai motor show this week. This battery can increase fuel economy efficiency by up to 8%, JCI claimed.

China is the company’s major growth market. It is building of a second global headquarters in Shanghai which will open in 2017.