N E W S R E L E A S E

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Exide Technologies Announces Plans to Close Petone, New Zealand Recycling Facility

Wellington, NZ – Feb. 15, 2012 -- Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical energy, announced today its plans to close its Petone recycling center on March 31. The announcement was communicated this morning to the 40 employees located at the Petone facility.

“As a result of the New Zealand Court of Appeal’s decision to permit the continued and unlimited export of used lead-acid batteries from New Zealand, we have concluded that it is necessary to close our facility,” said John Cowpe, Managing Director, Exide Australasia. “Without a sufficient amount of raw material coming into the facility, we are unable to effectively and profitably operate the business. We are disappointed with the Court’s decision and the negative impact on the citizens of New Zealand who no longer have a recycling facility in their country, as well as on our employees. We want to thank them for their years of dedicated service in supporting our recycling efforts.”

After March 31, a limited number of employees will remain temporarily to ensure proper closure and maintenance of the facility. Exide is working closely with the Council to ensure that all appropriate environmental requirements are met through the decommissioning process.

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About Exide Technologies

Exide Technologies, with operations in more than 80 countries, is one of the world's largest producers and recyclers of lead-acid batteries. The Company’s four global business groups – Transportation Americas,

Transportation Europe and Rest of World, Industrial Energy Americas and Industrial Energy Europe and Rest of World – provide a comprehensive range of stored electrical energy products and services for industrial and transportation applications.

Transportation markets include original-equipment and aftermarket automotive, heavy-duty truck, agricultural and marine applications, and new technologies for hybrid vehicles and automotive applications. Industrial markets include network power applications such as telecommunications systems, electric utilities, railroads, photovoltaic (solar-power related) and uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and motive-power applications including lift trucks, mining and other commercial vehicles.

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