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wouldn’t think batteries have had any effect at all on petrol, especially mowers.
“It has with handhelds blowers and hedge cutters but, looking at the sales results of the last few years, you would not think battery had had any effect at all.”
And this despite some major power tool brands pulling out of petrol altogether.
“Petrol hasn’t died – it has increased quite significantly – and I just think you need to be a little bit careful not to write it off too soon,” warns Steve Huddleston.
Battery’s growth is not with challenges
Nevertheless, petrol is not for everyone, particularly with homeowners.
Steve Huddleston: “A lot of consumers are buying into battery equipment because they have always feared petrol or haven’t gone near petrol and that brings a whole lot more retailers into the market.
“I think demand has also come from consumers who have always had a contractor.”
Perhaps the contractor market is suffering as a result (we will look at this in a later edition!), but consumers have been going battery because it’s easy to use and aren’t turned off by having to pay a premium.
So, cordless convenience rules for domestic users and comes with a premium many are happy to pay, but Steve Huddleston among others raises the issues of “right to repair” and “product for life,” awareness of which is also growing as the battery markets mature.
Already, says Steve Huddleston, consumers are asking questions about batteries becoming depleted after “just” four or so years and
not running as long as when new (which
is actually normal), leaving them aghast at having to spend another 200 bucks on a battery to give their product another four- or five-years’ life.
Their previous Masport, which will have been petrol-driven, lasted 15-20 years...
Simply put: “You will not get the life out of a battery as you did it out of your petrol mower,” says Steve.
“It’s just a fact that batteries deplete and over time you are not going to get the run time out of it and then finally the batteries will need replacing.
“It will be interesting to watch the development of batteries here.
“Battery is here to stay, and it is going to get stronger and stronger.
“But I think it’s going to have its challenges, too.”
Looking to the positive, tackling most of these challenges – explaining cost versus utility to a regular customer, advising on repair, servicing, and parts – are however just part of day-to-day business for a servicing dealer.
They’re a much harder ask for the big DIY barns.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in
every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” (Winston Churchill). n
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