New Delhi: In a fascinating corporate legal battle over brand identity, India recently witnessed two battery manufacturing giants clash in court over a specific colour. The dispute between Exide and Amara Raja highlights how a simple visual element can hold immense business value in the domestic automobile market.
Exide has been manufacturing batteries in India since 1920. For over a century the company has sold its products in a distinct red packaging. This consistent branding has made a red battery virtually synonymous with the Exide brand name across the country. In contrast Amara Raja which manufactures the popular Amaron brand has traditionally maintained a green colour scheme for its products. Together these two corporate giants dominate the Indian automobile battery sector controlling a massive 85 percent of the total market. Exide holds a 50 percent share while Amara Raja controls 35 percent.
The rivalry took a sudden legal turn in 2025 when Amara Raja launched a new battery named Elito. Breaking away from its traditional green identity the company introduced Elito in a bright red casing that looked remarkably similar to the classic Exide products. Interestingly Amara Raja sold this exact same battery in a blue casing in international markets but chose the contested red colour specifically for India. Viewing this as a direct attempt to divert its customer base Exide immediately approached the judiciary.
The legal dispute travelled through multiple judicial levels before finally reaching the Supreme Court. Every single court ruled firmly in favour of Exide. The judiciary observed that while a company cannot simply trademark a common colour, consistent historical usage can transform that colour into a core brand identity which the law will ultimately protect.
This landmark ruling perfectly reflects the ground reality of the Indian automobile market. A major portion of battery buyers includes local mechanics operating in small garages across tier 2 and tier 3 cities. These mechanics often identify brands through visual cues rather than reading technical specifications or brand labels on the box. They see the red colour and instantly assume it to be an Exide product. By protecting the red packaging the legal system recognised that in the Indian market the visual colour of a product can be just as important as the technology inside it.