Tesla weighs smaller batteries for its India car

livemint.com:

Mint’s request for comment. Batteries comprise the biggest chunk of an electric vehicle’s (EV) bill of materials, and strapping a smaller battery on a car would be crucial for Tesla to realise a $24,000 (around ₹20 lakh) electric car, which it is reportedly conceptualizing for sale in India and other developing markets. For context, the company’s most affordable car today, the base variant Model 3, starts at around $40,000 ( ₹33 lakh).

It comes with a 57.5-kilowatt-hour battery, which gives it a range of around 435km . The concept of fast-charging small batteries revolves around getting customers used to frequently charging their vehicles on public fast chargers, like refuelling conventional vehicles, rather than equipping vehicles with bulky and expensive batteries. “Customers rarely use the entire range on their electric vehicles.

For everyday use, EVs with a smaller battery make more sense. And when longer range is needed, they can use fast chargers," said an auto industry analyst who asked not to be identified. Currently, India’s charging infrastructure is inadequate for such a plan to work.

There are around 9,300 public chargers in India at present, as per data compiled by car search platform CarDekho. This compares to over 138,000 in the US, as per Statista. Moreover, most of the public chargers in India charge vehicles at a relatively slow pace, making them unsuitable for quick pit stops.