Not Bigger, but Smarter - Battery Right-sizing Model

The article presents a sophisticated model developed by Strategy Engineers to determine the optimal battery size for electric vehicles (EVs), focusing on customer use cases and cost-effectiveness. By analyzing real-world driving patterns and defining three main user profiles—daily commuter, sales agent, and leisure driver—the model aims to balance range, cost, and total driving time. The study finds that increasing battery capacity has diminishing returns on total driving time, especially for long-distance trips. Moreover, it highlights the potential cost savings and environmental benefits of right-sizing batteries, which could help EVs achieve cost parity with internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) in the future. The article also discusses the current trend of increasing battery sizes and the need to shift focus towards optimizing total cost of ownership and emphasizing the advantages of EVs.