Electric 3-wheeler manufacturer, Grevol has partnered with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CAT) for procuring battery cells for the long term. CATL supplies battery cells to companies like Tesla, BMW and Mercedes. Grevol will be using CAT's cells in battery packs developed for their upcoming cargo 3-wheeler (L5N) vehicles.
Jayant Gupta, Founder and CEO, Grevol, said, 'Using these high-grade cells, we can reduce the charging time to less than two hours by providing fast charging option to achieve 200 Km range per day and a life of 200,000 Km or up to eight years. Based on trials and customer feedback, the company believes that its upcoming L5N category vehicle can consistently deliver a more extended range with a higher payload capacity than other EVs in the three-wheeler segment.
Jayant said the company had to insist the E-commerce delivery partners to take its vehicles for longer routes as they were not confident with electric vehicle capabilities based on earlier experience with other electric 3-wheelers they have used so far. The delivery partners understood that Grevol vehicles provide a longer range with heavier payloads.
The company has successfully conducted pilot runs with Flipkart, Big Basket, Porter, E-comm Express and others. In addition, it will soon be launching L5N in the Delhi-NCR market. Grevol's CTO, Sanjay Aggarwal said, 'An EV is essentially a battery pack on wheels, comprising 40-50% of the vehicle cost.
The four elements that, together, create this ideal lithium battery pack are cell sourcing, a dynamic battery management system with cell balancing, an active thermal management system, and, last but not least, the design and packaging of the battery pack. We conducted comprehensive lab and on-road tests to identify and resolve the challenges associated with the adaptability of lithium-ion batteries in the warmer climatic and tough road conditions prevalent in India.'