Who Manufactures AutoZone's Duralast Batteries?

AutoZone sells around 110 different Duralast batteries, a mid-pack car battery brand, for a variety of applications. While most of AutoZone's Duralast batteries deliver a nominal 12 volts, at least one of the auto parts retailer's Duralast listings is of the 6-volt variety. The types of Duralast batteries include heavy-duty (HD) equipment batteries, absorbed glass mat (AGM), flooded lead acid (FLA), enhanced flooded battery (EFB), and deep cycle batteries for marine and RV use. These types are marketed as Duralast, Duralast Gold, Duralast Elite, and Duralast Platinum.

According to the Safety Data Sheets that AutoZone provides with the majority of its Duralast batteries, most Duralast batteries are made by Clarios, a United States-based company located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition to its Wisconsin location, Clarios has manufacturing facilities scattered across the U.S. and around the world. Specifically, Clarios manufactures Duralast, HD, Gold FLA, Platinum AGM, deep cycle marine and RV, and heavy-duty 6-volt batteries for AutoZone.

The exception to the Clarios domination of AutoZone's Duralast battery manufacturing is the Duralast enhanced flooded battery, or EFB, lineup. There are 10 different Duralast EFB sizes listed on AutoZone's website. According to the Safety Data Sheets supplied with them, they are all made by Exide Technologies, a European-based company with manufacturing facilities located across Europe.

You may recognize the Exide battery brand if you've shopped for car batteries at a Home Depot. Exide Technologies, the company now responsible for the manufacture of Exide batteries, was founded as The Electric Storage Battery Company by W.W. Gibbs in 1888.

Clarios, a Brookfield Business Partners subsidiary, boasts 50+ facilities producing batteries that power 1 in 3 vehicles worldwide. In addition to AutoZone's Duralast batteries, Clarios manufactures batteries for other well-known brands such as DieHard, AC Delco, Motorcraft, and Optima.

AutoZone customers give Duralast batteries relatively high ratings. For example, AutoZone's most popular Duralast battery, the Platinum Group Size 48 H6 AGM Battery (H6-AGM), priced at $244.99 plus a $22.00 refundable core deposit, has a 4.8-star rating with 3,103 reviews to date. The H6-AGM is protected by a 4-year warranty, is rated at 760 cold cranking amps (CCA), 950 cranking amps, and has a 130-minute reserve capacity.

With 94% of reviewers recommending the Duralast H6-AGM and 89% giving it a full 5-star rating, it's not easy to find anything negative to say about it. Greg H. gave the battery a 5-star review, saying it "works as expected" in their 2022 Chrysler Pacifica, restoring performance "to near new."

While some of the 96 1-star reviews result from AutoZone's customer service and battery size recommendations, others are caused by frustration with the battery itself. One says the H6-AGM is "way too expensive." Another reports the battery "died 22 days past the 4-year warranty [expiration date]."