Car Battery Brands in the UAE Compared

We carry 16 battery brands on the vans, and the question we hear most is which one is best. The honest answer is that it depends on the car in front of us.

A brand that supplies European factories is the natural choice for a BMW and a poor-value one for a ten-year-old hatchback. The table below shows where each brand sits, and the sections after it group them by the cars they suit.

Every brand at a glance

Each price is the fitted figure that brand's range starts from. Your own figure depends on the size and type your car takes.

Start with the specification, not the brand

Every car has a battery specification: a case size, a terminal layout, a minimum capacity and a type. Any brand that makes a battery to that specification will start the car. A battery that misses it will not, however good the name.

So the order of decisions is type first, size second and brand third. Brand is where you choose between price, warranty and how long you plan to keep the car.

For European cars

Varta and Bosch are the two names most European dealers reach for, and both are strong in the AGM batteries that start-stop cars require. Varta supplies many European makers from new, so sizes and terminal layouts match exactly.

FIAMM has supplied Italian marques for decades and is the choice for owners who want the same make of battery their Fiat, Alfa Romeo or Maserati was built with.

For Japanese and Korean cars

Amaron has a large following among Patrol and Land Cruiser owners across the Gulf. Mobis is the genuine Hyundai and Kia part, and Solite and Sebang are Korean-made batteries that fit Korean and Japanese cars without adapters.

JPC and Energizer sit in the middle of the market and suit everyday saloons and crossovers that have no start-stop.

For American SUVs and pickups

ACDelco is the General Motors parts brand and the direct fit for Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac. Duracell is built around strong cranking figures for big engines, and Exide's heavier construction suits pickups and off-roaders that are drained and recharged more than most.

For Chinese makes

Camel supplies several Chinese car makers from new, which makes it a tidy match for the MG, Haval, Geely and Jetour models now common on UAE roads, including those with start-stop.

On a budget

Kays, Bekon and Autopart are the low-cost options. They make sense for an older car with modest electrical needs, for a car that is about to be sold, and for fleets that count cost per month.

They are not a way to save money on a car that needs AGM or EFB. A budget battery of the wrong type costs more in the end than the right one.

What matters more than the brand

Whichever name is on the case, check these four things before it goes in:

• The size code and terminal layout match the battery coming out
• The type is right for the car: flooded, EFB or AGM
• The manufacturing date is recent, ideally within the last six months
• The warranty period is written on the invoice, in months