In an Ev car, the battery capacity plays a very important role in determining the driving range. An EV with a larger battery capacity will provide more range on a single charge compared to an EV with a smaller battery. Therefore, it is always advisable to opt for an EV with a higher battery capacity to avoid range anxiety.
Battery capacity
Battery capacity refers to the total amount of electrical energy stored in the battery pack of the EV car, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). The higher the battery capacity, the more energy it can store and the longer the EV can travel before needing to be recharged.
For example: In real world (not lab test), an EV car with a 19.2 kWh battery capacity may provide a range of around 180-190 km on a single charge. However, an EV car with a larger 24 kWh battery can deliver a longer range of 240-260 km. Further increasing the battery capacity to around 40 kWh can extend the range to over 400 km.
EV cars Battery capacity in India
Battery capacity in affordable Ev cars
At present in India, Tata Motors offers a good range of EVs. The Tata Tiago EV comes in two battery pack options – with a 19.2 kWh battery offering 180-190 km range and a 24 kWh battery delivering 240-260 km range. The Tata Tigor EV has a 26 kWh battery and offers 260-280 km range. The bigger models like Tata Nexon EV and Tata Nexon EV Max have 30.2 kWh and 40.5 kWh battery packs, providing 312 km and 437 km range respectively.
The larger battery capacities in models like Nexon EV and Nexon EV Max ensure reduced range anxiety for customers, allowing them to complete daily commutes and weekend trips without frequently needing to recharge.
Apart from that MG, Citroen also offer a good range. Mg’s comet Ev comes with 17.2 kWh battery capacity and it offers 180-190 km while Citroen’s eC3 with 29 kWh battery capacity offers 280-290 km in 1 charge.
Battery capacity in premium Ev cars
There are other premium EV cars from the brands like Mercedes-Benz EQS, Volvo C40 Recharge, Hyundai IONIQ 5; they all offer range over 500 km and support the fast charging. These cars offer more range, because the battery size of these cars are bigger around 70 kWh to 107 kWh.
So in India, a low budget EV car will have battery capacity of 17.2 kWh to 29 kWh. While, a mid budget EV car will have battery capacity of 30 kWh to 40 kWh. On the other hand, the high budget Ev cars battery capacity will vary from 50 kWh – 110 kWh.
Battery capacity after 8 years or running EV around 1,60,000 kms
One point you should know, the battery capacity will not be same always for life time. After few years, the battery capacity will degrade and you will find out that after 8 years ( or running car 1,60000 kms) only 4/5th portion of battery will work means a 40 kWh battery will act as 32 kWh. We have discussed about the EV car battery life in detail in separate article, so must read it once and get more information regarding EV car batteries.
EV Car Battery capacity in Future
With advancements in battery technology, we can expect EVs with even higher capacities that deliver over 1000 km on a single charge in the near future.
The two predominant lithium-ion battery chemistries used in EVs today are nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. NMC batteries, favored by European and American automakers, offer very high energy density. This enables large battery capacities and ranges, but NMC batteries can be quite expensive due to the high cobalt content.
Well, some companies are really working in this segment to improve EV car range. By making high quality battery cells, the issue can be solved. As we know, recently China announced a nuclear battery that lasts for 50 years. We can expect that when it will be part of EV cars then both the range anxiety and charging issue will be resolved.
What do you think of EV car battery capacity? Do you think, companies should work more to enhance range per kWh? Please leave your thoughts in comments and don’t forget to share!
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