Yuasa were making rechargeable AA batteries many decades ago, I can remember them in the 1980's in the UK or whenever it was that the Sony Walkman was king as they were invariably in the charger. Maybe they didn't make it to the US. I don't believe my personal recollections are that reliable, but I am pretty sure that Yuasa have been going for decades and would be surprised to be considered 'fairly new'.
GS Yuasa is the product of a merger. The merged company is fairly new (2004), but you're right - GS and Yuasa were formed in 1904 and 1909 respectively, and have been manufacturing automotive batteries since a century ago.
