The partners said cells would be sourced from Leclanché's plant in Willstätt, Germany, in the intervening period. The agreement comes almost one year after Exide Industries bosses said they were " negotiating with a lot of companies" to branch out into lithium. Leclanché said the joint venture would have access to its knowhow and intellectual property for lithium-ion cells, modules and battery management systems and Exide Industries will tap into its "extensive sales network and brand". In terms of e-transport, the joint venture's "target segment will be fleet vehicles including e-buses, e-wheelers and e-rickshaws". Exide Industries CEO Gautam Chatterjee (pictured bottom right) said the deal "compliments our leading position in the lead-acid storage battery market in India and will allow us to take the lead in the lithium-ion battery industry, which is expected to grow significantly in the next few years".