With Mid-Autumn Festival & National Day approaching, what are the holiday arrangements for lead-acid battery enterprises in 2026? [SMM Analysis]

SMM, September 25: According to the General Office of the State Council's notice on holiday arrangements for certain holidays in 2026, this year's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday runs from September 25 to 27, totaling 3 days; the National Day holiday runs from October 1 to 7, totaling 7 days.

   It is understood that as the holidays approach, major lead-acid battery enterprises have been making advance arrangements for the holiday period. A key task is to stockpile raw lead inventory for lead-acid battery production during the holiday, based on the length of the break. To this end, SMM surveyed 15 lead-acid battery enterprises across 6 provinces regarding their holiday schedules. The enterprises range in scale from monthly lead consumption of 1 kt, several kt, 10 kt, tens of kt, to over 100 kt. The "double festival" arrangements of these major enterprises are as follows:

Based on the holiday arrangements of the above enterprises:

I. In 2026, over 73% of lead-acid battery enterprises will close for the Mid-Autumn Festival, with the largest share—81%—taking a 1-day holiday; another 26% will not close during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

II. For the National Day holiday, 80% of lead-acid battery enterprises plan to close, with 50% taking a 3-day holiday; another 20% will not close during National Day and will maintain normal production. Compared with the 2025 holiday arrangements of lead-acid battery enterprises, this year's closures have decreased. On one hand, the holiday duration has shortened, with the longest break being 5 days, versus 8 or even 15 days last year. On the other hand, more medium-sized enterprises are not closing at all; last year, such enterprises took holidays ranging from 1 to 7 days.

With this year's "double festival" closures reduced from last year, the market cannot help but ask: are domestic orders fully booked, or have export orders improved? It is understood that due to policy changes and substitution factors, overall consumption in the lead-acid battery market was lackluster in H1 2026, with many enterprises posting negative YoY growth in production and sales. Starting in May, e-bike and automotive battery enterprises successively launched promotions on finished batteries, but the initial results were minimal. The battery promotion campaigns were extended, running from May through August, and even into September (the traditional peak season). According to lead-acid battery enterprises, orders improved in September. Aside from seasonal consumption recovery, some enterprises reported a rebound in export orders, while most others said the improvement was largely driven by the prolonged battery promotions, with current production mainly fulfilling earlier orders.