Following a 40 per cent increase in vehicles requiring replacement batteries, to avoid unnecessary downtime RAC is warning fleet motorists of the capabilities and limitations of vehicle batteries during the cold weather.

RAC’s busiest day for battery replacements was Monday 29 November, when the company fitted 1,200 batteries, or an average of almost one every minute. The following week on Monday 6 December RAC replaced 912 batteries.

The most common reason for a call out last winter was battery-related, and with RAC patrols already fitting 30 per cent more batteries in November than forecast, the breakdown organisation is expecting worse to come in the busiest months of January and February.

Mark Johnson, parts, tools & equipment manager at the RAC, said: “We are fitting hundreds more batteries than we expected for this period, and we haven’t even reached the depths of winter, a time when our most common call outs tend to be battery-related. During September and October we worked directly with our battery supplier Bosch to ensure an additional 25,000 batteries were made available from stock.”

RAC is urging fleet managers to ensure motorists are aware that prolonged cold weather can place extra strain on batteries. It has provided the following advice to help avoid downtime through flat batteries this winter:

  • Ensure everything is switched off when you end your journey including lights, heater, fan, heated rear windscreen, radio etc – every volt is precious first thing in the morning!
  • Heaters, heated screens and heated seats put high demands on the vehicle’s battery so try to avoid using these types of devices any longer than necessary. High use of satellite navigation equipment and music players can also drain the battery.
  • Park your vehicle in a garage where possible.

RAC’s data indicates the proportion of larger, higher output batteries it has fitted this year has grown eight per cent compared with small batteries. Larger and more advanced batteries are required in newer vehicles to power comfort, safety and environmental features such as heated windows and seats, ABS and stop-start engine technology.

Mark Johnson explains: “A lot of newer vehicle ranges require larger specialist batteries. The market is becoming more bespoke and the range of batteries required to cover all vehicles has grown significantly. To ensure we can meet customer demands we now are carrying six of the most common small, medium and large batteries in the breakdown vehicle itself. We also have a network of six national suppliers and a procurement card scheme allowing patrols to purchase batteries from any stockists around the UK.

“By fitting high quality batteries to fleet vehicles, RAC is ensuring a trouble-free winter from a battery perspective. A new battery means a permanent repair, which should avoid further worries about non-starts.”