A few months ago, Matt wrote in about Hitachi’s 18V compact 3.0Ah battery pack being on sale for $39.99. I must have missed his message (sorry!), but I received another tip about the batter pricing last month, putting it on my radar again. (I cannot find the email or message; please remind me who you are so I can properly credit you for the tip!)
And then today I saw an Instagram post from Hitachi USA:
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Somehow, they are pricing their new 18V Compact Li-ion battery pack at just $40. That’s around $13.33 per amp-hour.
Hmm.
Over at Amazon, Dewalt has a 2-pack of 20V Max 2.5Ah 2.0Ah battery packs currently priced at $89, or just $44.50 each. That’s about $17.8 $22.25 per amp-hour.
Bosch has a starter pack for $99, including (2) 2.0Ah battery packs and a charger. That’s $24.75 per amp-hour, if you toss the charger aside and consider it a freebie.
Milwaukee’s compact battery packs are quite pricey in comparison, at $119 for (2) 1.5Ah packs. That’s $39.67 per amp-hour. Ouch.
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Makita? $149 for a 2-pack of 2.0Ah battery packs. That’s around $37.25 per amp-hour.
Okay, I can see why Hitachi’s $40 per 3.0Ah battery pack is a big deal now. Their $1.5Ah seems to be priced at $29.99. Sorry, it doesn’t look like its price is $9.99 – that’s probably just a result of an inadvertent Instagram crop.
Last year, in our cordless battery pack deal post, I posted about Kobalt’s 24V Max 1.5Ah battery packs, and their astonishingly low price of $10 each. While Hitachi’s pricing doesn’t come close, it’s still definitely very aggressively priced compared to other professional tool brands.
Going by a quick survey of professional power tool brands’ 18V compact battery pack prices, Hitachi’s is lowest, followed by Dewalt and then Bosch, and then Makita and Milwaukee are substantially higher priced.
Will we see other brands reduce the price of their battery packs? Probably not. The last time I asked about pricing, I was told that battery packs reflect more “normal” margins and pricing, while kits are very aggressively discounted.
Tool brands often offer different deals, bonus items, and other such promos. I tend to find these promos very appealing, in part because of the savings compared to purchasing items separately.
But Hitachi does not seem to discount their kits as aggressively as other brands do. Their triple hammer impact driver kit is now $295 via Amazon, but it was $400 for a long time after it launched. So perhaps that is why they can be more flexible on battery pack pricing.
Personally, I think the prospect of a $40 3.0Ah compact battery pack is highly appealing. Hopefully they’ll have similar discounted pricing on their 10-cell higher capacity battery packs as well.
Different brands are shaking things up in different ways. We are at a pivotal time, where battery technology is shifting. I’m told that the prices of 18650 cells might go up, as manufacturers shift to different technologies, such as higher capacity 20700 and 21700 cells.
Buy Now(Hitachi 3.0Ah Battery via Amazon)
Buy Now(via Acme Tool)
Tim
I don’t think any of the more widely accepted manufacturers pay any attention to Hitachi but they should.
If I weren’t already invested in several other tool and battery platforms I would switch just for this reason.
I may still. Who knows. I’ve loved (nearly) every Hitachi tool I’ve had to date.
Brian
I hope so, prices should come down as the tech ages…but the brands are also limited to the deals they get from cell manufacturers. Though it is possible that they could lower their profit margin to sell more and possibly tempt conversions(to different brands) and/or bare tool purchases.
I don’t think Kobalt is making (much) money on their batteries but their battery pricing is getting noticed, it’s driving discussion and purchases. Break even(ish) on batteries and sell tools and chargers, not a bad idea for someone trying to gain marketshare.
Hang Fire
Prices should come down as tech ages, IF tech remains the same. Which it does not. Today’s 2.0Ah batteries are smaller and lighter than 1.5Ah batteries from several years ago… so manufacturers feel quite justified in charging about the same price for them.
Matt
Have you read about the “multi volt” platform they are releasing in little under a yr?
Stuart
There’s some info here: http://www.hitachi-koki.co.jp/powertools/pro/multivolt/
It’s basically like Dewalt FlexVolt, but with 10-cell battery packs.
You’ll need Google Translate: Translated Link.
I don’t quite know what to make of it.
It’s also unclear as to whether Hitachi will be Hitachi next year. As part of the sale from Hitachi, Hitachi Power Tools might lose their name.
Austin
Last month at my local Milwaukee supply store they had a rep come in for a event. All milwaukee batteries were 10 bucks an amp hour. I picked up a couple 9.0 s with a free rapid charger for 180.
Ross
Festool’s 18v 2.6 ah battery is $45, not as cheap as the hitachi or kobalt, but pretty reasonable. Must be some room in the margin.
Stuart
I also noticed that their new 18V 3.1Ah sander battery pack is just $70. That caught me by surprise.
Rob
Festool’s prices went way up, recently, with their new overmolded batteries.
Prior to that, there was a good couple of years where batteries were either $35, 45 or 55.
Bear in mind that their battery packs are assembled in Hungary and Poland. Not exactly the epicenters of high wages, but certaibly not the dirt cheap labor of China.
Add to the fact that they’re selling waaaaay smaller quantities than the likes of Dewalt and Milwaukee (not to mention their parent companies) , it makes me wonder why people aren’t complaining from the down on up with some of the outrageous prices I’ve seen at the local borg?
John
I seriously doubt prices will come down. Costs are going up on Li-Ion cells. Manufacturers are already trying to deal with that. My best is these are not very good packs (cheap cells, low grade electronics). I’d like to see testing to prove they can with stand the rigors of a true professional. These might be good enough for a lot of people, but if you are going to compare them to Milwaukee and DeWalt then we need to talk about durability and performance, not just price.
Paul
Not at all. They did not change the technology in these batteries, only the retail price.
John
And you know that how? Can you point to information that shows all the internals are exactly the same? Also, can you point to data showing that the original pack is on the same level, electronically, as the more expensive brands? It’s a hard thing to verify just by looking at the pack from the outside, which is why it’s such a clever trick.
Paul
Stuart, Can you expand that picture you have at the top? That is what I saw and it has the battery internal technology at the bottom right hand corner of the page.
John
I’m not sure what difference that picture of the outside label is going to make. You can’t verify the quality of the MOSFETs and other electrical components inside. They could be using significantly lower quality cells and PCB components inside to get the price down. It’s just my speculation based on other inexpensive battery packs I’ve seen. From the outside they look the same, but inside is a different story.
Stuart
I can’t. I only saw it in their Instagram post, and that’s exactly what the image looked like – cropped with the sides chopped off.
Even if the internal technology is the same, or if it isn’t, the graphics people who made the promo image might have worked with the same image to start with.
Power tool makers often have to test and possibly tweak battery pack designs every time they switch cells, to ensure that there are no surprises. Sometimes the thermal dissipation needs are going to be different.
Ralph
John, I understand your skepticism. Too good to be true, right? Well, it’s true and Paul is correct. They are the same batteries that once retailed at $99. Nothing has changed except for the retail price. Same battery is incorporated with the Triple Hammer kit. Same battery with the cordless nailer kits. It’s the Hitachi play to keep the jobsite as light weight and portable as possible while sparing the end users wallet. The aggressive battery retails as well as the growing line of impressive, innovative and professional brushless tools is definitely improving their presence in the market.
Click on that link to Amazon that’s at the end of the article. Amazon actually has an exploded image of the battery and its configuration.
ktash
Earlier this year, I got the Kobalt brushless cordless saw for a ridiculously low price. Having such good prices on the batteries tipped the scale for me. I love the saw and would buy it again. If they had more of a variety of tools I’d consider them. I am invested in Ryobi for my lower end tools, but still would consider Kobalt. While it would be nice to stick with one brand for everything, I want features/prices.
Probably neither Ryobi or Kobalt will ever match the makita 18v compact drills and drivers. Or the subcompact. I did find a good sale on the subcompact drill from Makita and absolutely love it. The power of 18v and size of 12v. I have the Ryobi drills and drivers from early kit purchases. They are the ones I loan out to other people.
ktash
I notice that Menard’s now carries Hitachi. This will be a plus since they carry lesser brands that are not as good as Hitachi. I’ve used older Hitachi drills, borrowed, and liked them a lot. My Hitachi corded chop saw was a great value at under $100. I’ve used their sliding miter saw a lot (not mine) and really like it, too. Would never hesitate to buy Hitachi.
The yeti
If they had been cheap when I was buying my Bosch stuff . I’d have gone with Hitachi. Very good company from medical equipment to laptops . Nuclear to excavators and ships . Obviously these people can build a drill
fred
I guess we will see what the future brings – since the Hitachi Tool Division was sold off and in now separate from all the other parts of Hitachi that you mention.
The yeti
Ya I saw that on tool guyd that the power tools got sold . Can’t be good for the brand long term
Nathan
isn’t hitachi joined to panasonic or someone. I think they are a mainline maker of the cells to begin with – would make sense they would lower prices first.
but either way I do think you will see the battery prices drop as you see more and more LI systems on the market and more large industrial uses of the same battery types. (cars, larger equipment bays, home power banks, etc)
Thomas Mowday
I really enjoyed this peace on battery cost and the comparison on tool’s, I am a babby boomer looking to buy drill and impact driver. I am glad to see battery cost go down, makes me lean towards buying cordless.
Tojen1981
Pretty entrenched in the m18. 5.0 batteries are going for $60ish no tax through 3rd party sellers on Amazon. The 2.0 were cheaper but they fluctuate quite a bit ($35-50).
Also picked up a couple 2750 impact drivers for around $60 each brand new. Good deals to be had if you watch for them.
Hitachi makes good stuff, just can’t justify buying into another platform.
Nathan
If you look around you see people making up adapters from one slide pack to another – I expect if this keeps up a popular downloadable schematic will be Hitachi to _______.
Insert your color of choice there.
e. baker
I know it’s off-topic somewhat…but has anyone heard anything else about Ryobi’s 3, 6, and 9ah batteries?
ToolOfTheTrade
It’s about time someone started selling batteries close to what they’re actually worth. Maybe a few of the other brands will follow, but more importantly this is an eye opener on how bad they’ve been ripping us off. I’m sure Hitachi is still making a decent profit at this reasonable price. A 9hr 60v or18v battery isn’t worth nowhere near $100. It costs them less than $15 to produce, package, and ship those hundred dollar batteries. And that’s on the high end. I hope what Hitachi is doing will effect the entire industry because it certainly needs to. You’d be lying if you didn’t feel ripped off when buying batteries for your tools. There’s a reason why people buy the knockoff brand batteries when the oe goes dead. The companies that make them will continue to flourish. I bought one & believe it or not it seems to hold a better charge than the oe battery. They’ve been getting away with highway robbery for a long time and we as the consumers need to stop letting them rip us off. These ain’t car batteries, which are worth what they cost. The average price of a 12v car battery is $130. When they start making a flexvolt battery that can power a car or truck as well as tools , then maybe I’ll feel comfortable paying $100 for it. For comparable price point purposes: if you own a $20k vehicle, that $130 battery costs less than 1% of what you paid for the vehicle. If you own a $300 cordless saw, that $90 battery costs more than 20% of what you paid for the saw.
Jay
Dewalt has 3.0 compact single row new cell units. I saw them at world of concrete in Vegas. Light and powerful but amazingly they continue to suppress them to push the flexvolts. I’ve had 5 flexvolts fail and have to get warranty out. I think they had a glut of older cells and needed a way to get rid of them. Good marketing then get you to like the idea…the new 9.0 and the new cells are incredible.
Stuart
Yes. I’ve been waiting for an updated image to post about them. It looks like they’re not coming out until at least early 2018 though.