Another battery alliance

Bosch and Gardena have set up a cooperative project for a cross-vendor battery system under the name Power for All Alliance. The two heavyweights in the market for DIY and garden appliances have also brought four other members into their alliance: Gloria, Wagner, Rapid and Emmaljunga, a supplier of buggies and prams (which now even come with a motor). Power tools, garden implements and household appliances with the 18 volt system of the participating manufacturers can be operated using the same battery in future. In fact, it is the Bosch system that is being used.
For Gardena, this means a system changeover that will affect its entire 18 volt range with effect from next season. Gloria and Wagner have already worked previously with Bosch batteries. The batteries are provided by Bosch. The Alliance is not a joint venture, and there is no jointly owned subsidiary.
The argument put forward by Alliance partners is that consumers will thus save money, time and space. Advantages for the retailers will be manifested in storage and logistics, for example. The broadest and most in-depth range of appliances in the 18 volt class is now available in the Alliance, currently comprising around 100 devices.
Bosch is sticking with retrospective compati­bility back to 2007. This means that more than 20 million Bosch batteries for 18 volt DIY and garden tools already on the market will remain compatible, along with the chargers.

Discussions are already underway with other prospective partners for the Power for All Alliance. Bosch claims to be open also to the inclusion of other appliance classes, such as 12 volt appliances. It concentrated on the 18 volt category because this currently covers 80 per cent of the market.
The Alliance already has one fan at any rate: Metabo, a competitor and initiator of the Cordless Alliance System (CAS) has let it be known that it welcomes the second cross-vendor battery system introduced by Bosch Power Tools for power tools and other cordless electric handheld tools. In Metabo's point of view, that offers confirmation that its own initiative was on the right track with the world's first cross-vendor battery system CAS, which was introduced two years ago.