Dr. Shilajit Das
Degradation of Lithium-ion Battery
National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal
Research Areas
Lithium-ion battery degradationBattery ageingBattery healthBattery life and reliabilityBattery research
EV.ENGINEER™ · Electric Mobility R&D
EV Auto Rickshaw
Design the Next Generation D+6 Intelligent Electric Three-Wheeler
A ground-up research and engineering program exploring an affordable, safe, connected and energy-efficient electric passenger vehicle for Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities across South India.
D+6 PassengerLFP BatterySmart BMSConnected EVDesign-to-Cost
D+611.7–14.3 kWh Base Target117–138 km Practical Range Target50 km/h₹3.7–4.3 L Target Price
Concept Engineering Targets · Subject to Simulation, Prototype Validation, Supplier RFQ & Homologation. This page is a research and product-planning simulator, not a production specification.
Build Your Electric Auto
Configure the duty cycle first. The simulator recommends the vehicle around the business requirement.
1. Tell Us Your Requirement
→2. Recommended EV
→3. What Will It Cost?
→4. Explore Engineering
Passenger Capacity
Average Passenger Weight80 kg
6 × 80 kg = 480 kg passenger payload
Daily Driving Distance120 km/day
Terrain
Traffic
Maximum Speed Requirement (km/h)
Air Conditioning
Increases auxiliary energy consumption and vehicle price.
Additional Luggage20 kg
Daily Charging Availability
Optimization Priority
Balances battery reserve, price and charging flexibility.
Software Tier
Target Purchase Price425000
₹4.25 lakh
Simulated
Recommended Configuration
EV Auto City — D+6
Estimated Vehicle Price₹4.02L
Estimated Practical Range127 km
Battery13.0 kWh
Energy Cost / Day₹92
Mass Breakdown
Vehicle: 414 kg
Battery: 137 kg
Driver: 75 kg
Passengers: 480 kg
Luggage: 20 kg
Total loaded mass: 1126 kg
Configuration Assessment
Opportunity Charge Recommended
Daily distance exceeds a comfortable overnight-only range margin. Consider opportunity charging, a larger battery, or fleet-depot charging.
Vehicle Architecture
Mass model, body/chassis targets, electrical architecture and component specification.
The glider — chassis, body, suspension, brakes, wheels and electronics excluding the battery — is sized around a D+6 passenger compartment: a low step-in height, grab rails, weather protection and a rear luggage provision, with repairable body panels and corrosion protection for coastal and monsoon conditions across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Ground Clearance ~180–190 mm+Water-Wading TargetFull-Load Gradient Capability
Suspension
Heavy-duty front architecture and commercial-duty rear suspension, designed around full GVW — not kerb weight. Detailed spring/damper sizing is a downstream engineering task.
Brakes
Hydraulic service brakes with a mechanical parking brake, regenerative braking blended under VCU coordination. Full-load and wet-weather stopping performance require prototype validation.
Tyres / Wheels
Commercial-duty tubeless tyres, 12-inch class baseline, selected for load rating, rolling resistance, durability and local spare-parts availability.
Electrical / Electronic Architecture
A single high-voltage traction path from battery to wheels, with 12V and charging branches, tied together by a CAN bus shared across BMS, VCU, motor controller, charger, cluster and telematics.
Battery Pack
↓
BMS
↓
HV Distribution / Protection
↓
Motor Controller
↓
PMSM Traction Motor
↓
Reduction / Differential
↓
Rear Wheels
12V Supply
DC-DC Converter
↓
12V Loads
Charging
On-board Charger
↓
Charging Port
CAN Bus: BMS ↔ VCU ↔ Motor Controller ↔ Charger ↔ Cluster ↔ Telematics
Component Specification
Traction Battery▾
- Chemistry: LFP (default) or NMC — see Battery System section
- Enclosure: sealed, structurally protected pack with IP target for monsoon/water exposure
- Disconnect: manual service disconnect + fusing + contactors with pre-charge circuit
- Sensing: cell/module temperature sensing, CAN telemetry to BMS/VCU
BMS▾
- Full protection, intelligence, connectivity and identity spec — see Smart Battery Management System section
Motor (PMSM/IPM)▾
- Continuous and peak power sized from duty cycle — see Powertrain section
- Liquid or forced-air cooling target depending on final thermal design
- Speed/torque characteristics validated on dynamometer before design freeze
Motor Controller▾
- Voltage/current rated to the selected voltage class and peak motor current
- Regenerative braking control coordinated with the VCU and hydraulic brakes
- CAN telemetry, thermal monitoring and fault protection
VCU (Vehicle Control Unit)▾
- Vehicle state machine: key-on, ready-to-drive, drive, regen, fault, limp-home
- Torque request arbitration between accelerator, regen and brake blending
- Drive-mode selection (Eco/City/Power) and diagnostic fault handling over CAN
Charger▾
- 3.3 kW baseline, optional 6.6 kW for fleet use — see Charging section
- Charge protection: over-voltage, over-current, over-temperature, ground fault
- CAN telemetry to BMS and cluster for charge status
DC-DC Converter▾
- HV pack voltage stepped down to 12 V for lighting, cluster, telematics and controllers
- Power rating configurable to accessory load; protected against reverse polarity and overload
Reduction / Differential▾
- Final-drive ratio selected from the performance simulation (top speed vs gradeability trade-off)
- Sized for full GVW, not kerb weight
Brakes▾
- Hydraulic service brakes on all wheels, mechanical parking brake
- Regenerative braking blended with hydraulic braking under VCU coordination
- Full-load stopping performance and wet-weather behaviour require prototype validation
Suspension▾
- Heavy-duty three-wheeler front architecture, commercial-duty rear suspension
- Suspension must be designed for GVW (full load), not kerb weight
- Detailed spring/damper sizing is a downstream engineering task, not part of this simulator
Tyres / Wheels▾
- Commercial-duty tubeless tyres, 12-inch class as a concept baseline
- Selected for load rating, rolling resistance, durability and local spare-parts availability
Telematics▾
- GNSS + cellular connectivity, CAN integration, secure device identity — see Software section
Instrument Cluster▾
- Speed, SOC, range estimate, warnings, drive mode and charging status
Charging Port▾
- Safe interlock, weather-protected housing, and a connector chosen for local serviceability
Battery System
Concept-Level Energy Model — chemistry, capacity, weight and the Smart BMS.
Simulated
Recommended Capacity13.0 kWh
Usable Energy11.0 kWh
Estimated Pack Weight137 kg
System Voltage76.8V
Chemistry
Thermal stability, long cycle life and commercial-vehicle-grade safety margins at a lower cost per kWh — the default for high daily-utilization duty cycles.
System Voltage Class
72/76.8 V is the default recommended architecture for this duty cycle. Changing capacity, chemistry or voltage class updates range, mass, price, charging time and energy reserve throughout this page.
Target Pack-Level Specific Energy
Estimated Pack Weight — 137 kg
Pack-Level Specific Energy: 95 Wh/kg. Pack-level specific energy includes more than cells — final pack weight must be confirmed after cell selection and mechanical design. This is a configurable engineering assumption (see Engineering mode), not a claim about a specific supplier or cell chemistry.
Cells: 96 kg
Enclosure: 16 kg
BMS / Contactors / Busbars: 14 kg
Thermal / Structural: 11 kg
This split is an illustrative concept-level breakdown, not a specific supplier's bill of materials — final proportions depend on cell format, enclosure design and cooling approach.
Smart Battery Management System
Protection
- Cell / pack over-voltage and under-voltage
- Charge and discharge over-current
- Short-circuit protection
- Over-temperature and under-temperature charge protection
- Contactor and pre-charge circuit monitoring
Intelligence
- State of Charge (SOC), State of Health (SOH), State of Power (SOP), State of Energy (SOE)
- Cycle count and energy throughput tracking
- Cell imbalance detection and degradation monitoring
- Remaining useful life estimation
Connectivity
- CAN bus telemetry
- On-board diagnostics
- Telematics and service-data upload
- Event history log
Battery Identity — "Battery Passport"
- Unique battery ID and manufacturing history
- Vehicle association across its service life
- Charging history, service history and SOH history
- Second-life history and recycling traceability
The Battery Passport / Battery Aadhaar concept does not imply any regulatory approval or certification — it is a development objective for battery lifecycle traceability.
Interested in what happens after this battery's first life? See the Battery Circular Economy project for second-life qualification, stationary BESS reuse and recycling economics.
Powertrain
PMSM/IPM motor sizing from load, speed and terrain — and what changes when you resize it.
Simulated
Continuous Power5.5 kW
Peak Power14.0 kW
Indicative Gradeability12.5% @ 25 km/h
Peak Battery Current (indicative)194 A
Hill-Start / Very-Low-Speed Capability
Requires motor torque curve + controller current limit validation — supply a motor peak-torque assumption in Engineering mode to estimate this. Sustained gradeability above is power-limited and always computable, but hill-start capability is torque-limited and cannot be inferred from peak power alone.
Peak Motor Power14.0 kW
PMSM/IPM is the recommended baseline motor type. Peak power is sized from two conditions: sustaining the maximum speed requirement on flat ground with a margin, and climbing the terrain-based gradeability target at full load. This is a concept-level sizing model — final motor selection requires dynamometer validation.
What Changes When I Increase Motor Power?
9 kW peak
Sustained Gradeability7.4%
Peak Battery Current125 A
Selling Price₹3.92L
vs
16 kW peak
Sustained Gradeability14.5% ↑
Peak Battery Current222 A ↑
Selling Price₹4.07L ↑
A larger motor improves hill performance and acceleration headroom but raises peak battery current (heavier busbars/contactors), controller current rating, and cost.
What Changes When I Change the Battery?
Charger power, chemistry, SOC window and vehicle configuration are held constant in each comparison below — only battery capacity changes — so the charging-time comparison is not distorted by a different charger being auto-selected for the larger pack.
With 3.3 kW Charger
11 kWh
Range109 km
Battery Mass116 kg
Selling Price₹3.77L
Charge Time3 h 47 min
vs
16 kWh
Range154 km ↑
Battery Mass168 kg ↑
Selling Price₹4.41L ↑
Charge Time5 h 30 min ↑
With 6.6 kW Charger
11 kWh
Range109 km
Battery Mass116 kg
Selling Price₹3.77L
Charge Time1 h 53 min
vs
16 kWh
Range154 km ↑
Battery Mass168 kg ↑
Selling Price₹4.41L ↑
Charge Time2 h 45 min ↑
Range, mass and price rise together with capacity regardless of charger. Payload margin may fall as pack mass grows. Does your duty cycle actually require the additional battery?
Charging
Charger recommendation, swap economics, and fleet charging + BESS planning.
Simulated
3.3 kW Standard
Recommended default for overnight home/depot charging.
6.6 kW Fleet
Optional for higher daily utilization or opportunity charging windows.
Battery Swap
Optional ecosystem — evaluated separately below, cost included explicitly.
Energy Required11.7 kWh
Time to 80%3 h 4 min
Time to Target SOC4 h 28 min
Recommended Charger3.3kW
3.3 kW is sufficient because approximately 10.4 kWh must be replenished and a 8-hour charging window provides adequate time (~3.5 h required).
Actual charging time depends on battery temperature, BMS current limits, charger behaviour, state of charge and cell chemistry. High-power DC fast charging is a research/future option only, not part of the default fixed-battery configuration.
Enable Battery Swapping
Planning Estimate
Fleet Charging + BESS Planner
Grid / Solar → BESS → Energy Management System → EV Chargers / Charging Rack → EV Fleet. These are planning estimates, not electrical-system designs — a licensed electrical contractor must size the actual site.
Fleet Size (vehicles)20
Battery per Vehicle (kWh)12
Daily km per Vehicle120
Number of Chargers8
Charger Rating
Optional Solar
Optional BESS
Fleet Daily Energy204 kWh
Connected Charger Load26.4 kW
Managed Charging Load (est.)18.5 kW
Estimated Infrastructure Cost₹2.24L
Software-Defined EV
Four software tiers, plus cybersecurity-by-design shared with AegisCAN.
Cybersecurity by design. CAN security, secure boot, signed firmware, authenticated diagnostics, OTA security, device identity, encrypted cloud communication, API security, battery and charger authentication, event logging and rollback protection are development objectives shared with the AegisCAN project — see AegisCAN for the full CAN/BMS cybersecurity engineering treatment rather than duplicating it here.
What Does the EV Cost?
Component BOM → manufacturing cost → indicative selling price, derived from your configuration.
Estimated Cost
Estimated Selling Price
₹4.02L
Manufacturing cost ₹3.35L + dealer/OEM margin ₹0.67L.
Where Does the Money Go?
Battery
31%
Powertrain
8%
Chassis / Body
16%
Electrical / Electronics
8%
Suspension / Brakes / Wheels
7%
Assembly / Warranty / Other
29%
Design to My Budget
Target Price
₹4.25L
Current Estimate
₹4.02L
Remaining Margin
₹0.23L
This configuration is within the target budget.
Safety-critical systems are never an optimization variable. Braking safety, structural safety, BMS/HV protection, battery enclosure safety, required lighting and connector safety are never reduced to hit a target price.
Detailed BOM▾
| Component | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Battery cells / pack | ₹1,17,000 |
| BMS | ₹9,000 |
| Motor + controller | ₹27,000 |
| Charger | ₹4,500 |
| DC-DC converter | ₹1,800 |
| Chassis / body | ₹64,000 |
| Suspension, brakes, wheels/tyres | ₹30,000 |
| Electrical harness, VCU, cluster, telematics | ₹14,000 |
| Interior / seating / lighting (+AC if enabled) | ₹18,000 |
| Subtotal — components | ₹2,85,300 |
| Assembly + overhead | ₹17,118 |
| Warranty reserve | ₹9,986 |
| Logistics | ₹22,824 |
| Manufacturing Cost | ₹3,35,228 |
| Dealer + OEM Margin | ₹67,046 |
Owner-Driver Economics
EMI, TCO, EV vs CNG/petrol, and warranty-cost impact.
Illustrative Business Estimate
Will This Auto Make Money?
Down Payment (₹)
Loan Interest (% p.a.)
Loan Tenure (months)
Working Days / Month
Avg Passengers / Trip
Avg Fare / Passenger (₹)
Trips / Day
Annual Maintenance (₹)
Annual Insurance (₹)
Tyre Set Cost (₹)
Tyre Life (km)
EMI₹11,533/mo
Daily Electricity₹92
Monthly Operating Cost₹16,718
Monthly Revenue₹23,400
Monthly Operating Surplus₹6,682
₹ / passenger-km (ownership)₹2.14
What is included?Energy ₹/km is energy cost only. Running ₹/km adds maintenance and tyres. Ownership ₹/km adds insurance and EMI. A number is never labelled "₹/km" alone without saying which of these three it is.
Energy ₹/km₹0.77
Running ₹/km₹1.42
Ownership ₹/km₹5.36
Lifetime TCO ₹/km (5 yr)₹3.81
Down-Payment Recovery Period9 months
Incremental EV Payback vs CNG17 months
Down-Payment Recovery Period is how long the down payment takes to recover from monthly operating surplus (revenue minus full operating cost including EMI) — not a vehicle-investment payback. Incremental EV Payback vs CNGis the EV's acquisition premium over a CNG auto divided by the monthly running-cost savings (energy/fuel + maintenance + tyres) — a more direct answer to "how long until the extra upfront cost pays for itself."
EV vs CNG vs Petrol Auto
| Metric | Our EV | CNG Auto | Petrol Auto |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | ₹4.02L | ₹2.80L | ₹2.60L |
| Daily Fuel / Energy | ₹92 | ₹364 | ₹360 |
| Energy / Fuel ₹/km | ₹0.77 | ₹3.04 | ₹3.00 |
| Running ₹/km (+ maintenance, tyres) | ₹1.42 | ₹3.80 | ₹3.81 |
| Ownership ₹/km (+ insurance, EMI) | ₹5.36 | ₹4.04 | ₹4.05 |
| 3-Year TCO | ₹5.89L | ₹7.33L | ₹7.15L |
| 5-Year TCO | ₹7.13L | ₹10.36L | ₹10.19L |
| 10-Year TCO | ₹10.25L | ₹17.91L | ₹17.78L |
All three vehicles use the same Energy/Running/Ownership definitions (see "What is included?" above). CNG/petrol fuel economy, price and tyre assumptions are editable planning assumptions, not sourced live fuel prices — adjust them to match your local market before drawing conclusions.
Maintenance Plan & Lifetime Service Cost
Daily
- Tyres
- Brakes
- Lights
- Warning indicators
- Visible damage
Periodic (km-based interval)
- Tyres, brakes, steering, suspension, bearings
- Electrical connectors, charging connector
- Drivetrain and diagnostic fault check
Annual
- Battery health report
- HV inspection / isolation check
- Charger, chassis, corrosion, brake system, software, telematics
| Period | Est. Annual Service Cost |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | ₹8,400/yr |
| Years 2–3 | ₹12,000/yr |
| Years 4–5 | ₹15,000/yr |
| Years 6–8 | ₹18,000/yr |
| Years 9–10 | ₹21,600/yr |
| Lifetime Maintenance ₹/km | ₹0.43/km (at ~37440 km/year) |
Warranty Simulator
Vehicle 3 yr / Battery 3 yr
Selling price: ₹4.02L
Vehicle 6 yr / Battery 6 yr
Selling price: ₹4.25L
Estimated warranty-cost impact: +₹0.23L for extending both vehicle and battery warranty from 3 to 6 years. These are cost-model provisioning assumptions, not final commercial warranty commitments.
Market Benchmark
Your configuration alongside sourced, published competitor specifications.
Competitor Published DataAccessed 2026-09-22
Certified range, published typical range and our simulated practical range are different measurements — they are labeled separately below rather than compared as if they were the same metric.
| Vehicle | Seating | Battery | Motor | Range | Top Speed | Charging | Kerb Weight | Warranty | Approx. Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our EV (Configured) | D+6 | 13.0 kWh LFP | 14.0 kW peak | 127 km (simulated practical) | 50 km/h | 3.3kW | 551 kg | 3 yr | ₹4.02L |
| TVS King EV MAX TVS Motor Company | Driver + 3 | 9.2 kWh LFP | 11 kW | 179 km (certified) | 60 km/h | ~3.5 h | 457 kg | 6 years / 150,000 km | ₹3.28L |
| Bajaj RE E-TEC 9.0 Bajaj Auto | Driver + 3 | 8.9 kWh LFP | 4.5 kW | 178 km (certified) | 45 km/h | ~4.5 h | 362 kg | 36 months / 80,000 km | ₹3.76L |
| Mahindra Treo Plus Mahindra Last Mile Mobility | Driver + 3 | 10.24 kWh Li-ion | 8 kW | 167 km (certified) · 150 km (typical) | 55 km/h | ~4.5 h | Not found | 5 years / 120,000 km | ₹3.73L |
| Piaggio Ape E-City Ultra Piaggio Vehicles | Driver + 3 | 10.2 kWh Li-ion | 9.5 kW | 205 km (typical) | Not found | ~3.75 h | 448 kg | 5 years | ₹3.88L |
Differences from our configuration are shown for comparison, not to declare a winner — passenger capacity, battery size, motor power, expected range, charging and price all trade off against each other differently depending on your duty cycle.
Sources
TVS King EV MAX
OEM states a "certified range" of 179 km without explicitly naming the test standard.
Bajaj RE E-TEC 9.0
Bajaj RE E-TEC 9.0 — OEM brochure (PDF) (OEM)Bajaj Auto Credit — RE E-TEC 9.0 (weight specs) (secondary)CarDekho Trucks — Bajaj RE E-TEC 9.0 specifications (secondary)
OEM brochure explicitly footnotes 178 km "as per ARAI certificate."
Mahindra Treo Plus
OEM publishes both an ARAI-certified figure (167 km) and a typical real-world figure (~150 km, "depends on driving conditions").
Piaggio Ape E-City Ultra
Piaggio Ape E-City Ultra — official page (OEM)e-vehicleinfo — Ape E-City Ultra / FX Maxx (secondary)
Contested figure: OEM states "205 ± 5 km" typical range without an ARAI label; a secondary source separately claims an ARAI-certified 236 km. The two do not reconcile — treat both as unverified until a test certificate is checked.
Business Plan
Business Model Canvas, variant strategy, target markets and go-to-market.
Strategic Planning Estimate
Business Model Canvas
Customer Segments
- Owner-drivers
- Fleet operators
- Shared mobility
- Hotels / resorts
- Institutions
- Employee transport
- Tourism
Value Proposition
- D+6 passenger architecture
- Competitive acquisition cost
- Low ₹/passenger-km
- South India duty-cycle durability
- Intelligent battery
- Connected service
Channels
- Direct
- Dealers
- Fleet partnerships
- Digital
Customer Relationships
- Connected service
- Roadside support
- AMC
- Mobile service
Revenue
- Vehicle sale
- AMC
- Connected software
- Fleet SaaS
- Charging
- Future BaaS
- BESS
- Second-life battery services
Key Activities
- Vehicle engineering
- System integration
- Validation
- Software
- Supplier management
- Service
Key Resources
- Architecture & IP
- BMS
- VCU
- Software
- Supplier network
- Test data
Partners
- Cell suppliers
- Battery pack integrators
- Motor suppliers
- Electronics
- Body / chassis
- Financial institutions
- Service partners
- Charging partners
Cost Structure
- R&D
- BOM
- Tooling
- Homologation
- Warranty
- Software
- Service
- Distribution
The company is not designed to depend solely on vehicle gross margin — AMC, connected/fleet software, charging, future Battery-as-a-Service, BESS reuse and recycling all contribute to the revenue model.
Product Variant Strategy
One common platform, configurable battery, powertrain and software — not four different vehicles.
Value
Lowest acquisition price for shorter, predictable routes.
City
Default recommended product for typical Tier-2/3 duty cycles.
Long Range
Larger battery for high daily-km drivers.
Fleet+
High-utilization fleet configuration with swap-readiness.
Development Objectives / Differentiators
D+6 passenger architectureDesign-to-cost engineeringSouth India duty-cycle optimizationIntelligent batteryConnected diagnosticsLow ₹/passenger-kmConfigurable chargingFuture swap readinessBattery circular economyCybersecurity-by-design
Target Markets
Tamil Nadu
High ambient heat, dense Tier-2 mobility, industrial corridors.
Karnataka
Mixed urban and ghat-road use.
Kerala
Monsoon rainfall, gradients, corrosion and humidity exposure.
Telangana
High ambient heat and mixed urban usage.
Andhra Pradesh
High ambient heat, coastal environment, mixed routes.
Startup Investment Simulator
Engineering / Prototype
₹1.5–3 crore
- Engineering
- Prototypes
- Initial testing
Pilot OEM
₹5–10 crore
- Tooling
- Homologation
- Software
- Initial inventory
Commercial Launch
₹15–30+ crore
- Assembly
- Service network
- Sales
- Warranty reserve
- Working capital
Go-to-Market
Voice of Customer
→Requirements + Digital Engineering
→Alpha Prototypes
→Engineering Validation
→Beta Fleet
→One-City Pilot (20–50)
→500-Vehicle Scale-Up
→Multi-State Expansion
Start with one city and one duty cycle. Do not launch in five states simultaneously.
Regulatory & Development Roadmap
Homologation scope, planning timeline and open research questions.
Homologation Required Before Commercial Production
Applicable standards and their current revisions must be confirmed with an authorized test agency before design freeze. Nothing on this page implies the vehicle is homologated, type-approved or certified.
Regulatory Scope
- Vehicle category confirmation (electric passenger three-wheeler)
- CMVR compliance
- Applicable AIS requirements (traction battery, braking, EMC/EMI, lighting, tyres, dimensions)
- Electrical safety
- Range / energy consumption test procedure
- Charger / EVSE compliance
- State permit requirements
To Be Validated
Unresolved Research Questions
- Is D+6 economically better than D+3 for target routes?
- What is actual km/day across representative Tier-2/3 duty cycles?
- What range do drivers genuinely need before range anxiety changes behaviour?
- How much additional purchase price will drivers accept for a larger battery or motor?
- Is 10–11.5 kWh sufficient across the target duty-cycle distribution?
- Is 12 kW peak enough for full-load hill operation in Kerala/Karnataka ghat routes?
Development Roadmap — Planning Targets
Voice of Customer + Requirements
0–6 weeks
Architecture + Simulation
6–12 weeks
Detailed Engineering
3–5 months
Alpha Prototypes
5–7 months
Validation
7–10 months
Beta Fleet
9–12 months
Homologation / Production Engineering
10–15 months
Pilot / SOP Preparation
12–18 months
More Open Research Questions
- Fixed battery or swapping — which wins on total cost for a given utilization?
- What warranty is financially sustainable given real-world degradation?
- What service interval minimizes downtime without over-servicing?
- Which body architecture minimizes mass without compromising safety?
- Can the target selling price be achieved at scale after supplier RFQs?
- What is the real ₹/passenger-km advantage once fare-sharing behaviour is measured?
This reinforces that the project is engineering research and product planning, not completed production engineering.
About the Researchers
A cross-disciplinary research team bringing together battery degradation research, engineering, energy intelligence, and electric vehicle technologies to support the development of affordable and reliable electric mobility systems.
Sudarshana Karkala
EV.ENGINEER™
National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal — Alumni
Research Areas
EV engineeringBattery intelligenceBattery Management SystemsEnergy intelligenceConnected EV systemsEV cybersecurityElectric mobility
Research areas describe each researcher's domain expertise and contribution context — they do not imply personal validation, certification or approval of this concept-stage simulator's specific engineering assumptions.
References
TVS King EV MAX — official specifications — TVS Motor Company
Bajaj RE E-TEC 9.0 — official brochure (PDF) — Bajaj Auto
Mahindra Treo Plus — official specifications — Mahindra Last Mile Mobility
Piaggio Ape E-City Ultra — official specifications — Piaggio Vehicles
AegisCAN — CAN & BMS Cybersecurity — EV.ENGINEER™
Battery Circular Economy — EV.ENGINEER™
Frequently Asked Questions
How large should an electric auto battery be?▾
It depends on the duty cycle: daily distance, terrain, traffic, payload, speed and whether AC is used. This simulator sizes the battery from your inputs rather than assuming one fixed capacity for every vehicle.
Is 15 kWh necessary?▾
Not always. A larger battery increases range but also mass, cost and charging time. For moderate daily distances with overnight charging, a smaller pack in the 8–12 kWh range is often the lower-total-cost choice.
Why is LFP recommended?▾
LFP offers thermal stability, longer cycle life and generally lower cost per kWh — well suited to high daily-utilization commercial duty cycles. NMC can offer higher pack-level specific energy where mass is the binding constraint.
How long will charging take?▾
Estimated from energy required divided by effective charger power, with an allowance for CC-CV taper above 80% SOC. Actual time depends on battery temperature, BMS limits, charger behaviour and cell chemistry.
Is battery swapping better?▾
It depends on utilization and infrastructure availability. Fixed battery is the default cost-optimized configuration; swapping adds vehicle hardware cost and requires separate station infrastructure investment.
What motor power is needed for six passengers?▾
This simulator sizes peak motor power from the vehicle's full-load mass, the maximum speed requirement and a terrain-based gradeability target — typically in the 8–18 kW range for a D+6 configuration, not a single fixed number.
How much can an electric auto cost?▾
Concept-stage planning estimates for this program range roughly ₹3.3–5.2+ lakh depending on battery size, motor size, software tier and features — derived component-by-component in the Cost section, not a single hardcoded price.
How is real-world range estimated?▾
From a simplified road-load model (rolling resistance, aerodynamic drag, drivetrain efficiency, terrain and traffic loss factors, auxiliary load) divided into the usable battery energy — shown as a Light Load / Typical / Full Load band, not one optimistic number.
How much does the battery weigh?▾
Estimated from a configurable pack-level specific energy assumption (Wh/kg). Final weight depends on the cell supplier, enclosure, cooling and structural protection chosen during detailed engineering.
Can the battery be replaced?▾
The default architecture uses a fixed, service-replaceable pack. A swap-ready configuration is also modelled as an option with separate vehicle and infrastructure cost implications.
What happens after battery degradation?▾
See the Battery Circular Economy project for second-life qualification, stationary BESS reuse and recycling economics once a pack no longer meets vehicle-duty requirements.
Does the simulator represent a production vehicle?▾
No. It is a concept-level engineering and business simulation platform for research, product planning and feasibility evaluation — not a production specification, and not a homologated or certified vehicle.
EV Auto Rickshaw R&D Simulator · Concept Version 0.1 · Last Updated 2026-09-22.
Engineering targets, simulations and cost estimates are preliminary and intended for research, product planning and feasibility evaluation. Final vehicle specifications require detailed engineering, supplier selection, prototype validation, regulatory compliance and homologation.
₹4.02L · 127 km · 13.0 kWh
Within budget