A working reference for the technology and the business of electric mobility - charging, batteries, motors, and markets - with a Bangladesh focus throughout. Use the tabs to move between domains.
// Interactive Reference
EV Tech & Business
Charging · Batteries · Motors · Markets · Bangladesh focus
Charging levels at a glance
Level 1 (AC)1.4-2.4 kW120V socket · 8-20 hr full charge
Level 2 (AC)3.7-22 kW240V EVSE · 3-8 hr · home & work
DC Fast (L3)50-350 kWCCS / CHAdeMO · 20-80% in 20-40 min
Ultra-Fast (HPC)350 kW-1 MW800V architecture · 5-15 min top-up
Connector standards
| Standard | Type | Max power | Regions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCS2 | AC+DC combo | 350 kW | Europe, India, BD | Global standard |
| CCS1 | AC+DC combo | 350 kW | North America | Dominant NA |
| NACS (J3400) | AC+DC | 350 kW | USA, expanding | Rising |
| CHAdeMO | DC only | 400 kW | Japan | Declining |
| GB/T | AC+DC | 250 kW | China | China dominant |
| Type 2 (Mennekes) | AC (DC in CCS2) | 43 kW AC | Europe, BD | EU AC standard |
🇧🇩 Bangladesh / South Asia: CCS2 + Type 2 is the regulatory direction, following the EU and India. Most imported EVs (Hyundai Ioniq, BYD Atto) use CCS2; Chinese three-wheelers use GB/T or proprietary connectors.
AC vs DC charging
| Parameter | AC slow (L1/L2) | DC fast (50-150 kW) | DC ultra-fast (>150 kW) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Converter location | In vehicle (OBC) | In charger (off-board) | In charger (off-board) |
| Infrastructure cost | $500-3,000 | $25,000-60,000 | $80,000-250,000+ |
| Battery stress | Low | Medium-High | High (thermal-critical) |
| Use case | Overnight home / fleet | Destination, depot | Highway, transit hub |
| ROI timeline | 2-3 years | 4-6 years | 6-10 years |
Charging business models
CPO - Own & operateOwn the chargers, sell energy at a markup (2-3× grid rate). Most capital-intensive; needs grid connection, permits, land. Tesla Supercharger, Ionity.
EVSE manufacturer / distributorSell hardware to CPOs, fleets, property owners. Higher margin with add-on services (warranty, OCPP licensing, CMS). ABB, Webasto, Star Charge.
Charging-as-a-Service (CaaS)Provider funds and owns the hardware; host gets free install plus a revenue share. Removes host CAPEX barrier - very BD-relevant for malls, hotels, petrol pumps.
Fleet energy management (B2B SaaS)Sell CSMS / fleet software - load balancing, scheduling, billing. High-margin recurring revenue. ChargePoint, Monta, Virta.
Battery swap networkMonthly subscription per vehicle ($5-20 for 2-wheelers in BD). Station CAPEX ~$15-50k. Key barrier: standardising packs across OEMs. Oyika (BD), Gogoro, NIO.
⚡ BD grid challenge: Load shedding and ±10% voltage swings demand chargers with wide voltage tolerance (85-265V) and buffer integration - a real technical selling point, not a footnote.
Battery chemistry comparison
| Chemistry | Energy density | Cycle life | Cost $/kWh | Safety | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LFP (LiFePO₄) | 120-160 Wh/kg | 3,000-6,000+ | $80-100 | Excellent | Fleet, buses, BD market |
| NMC 811 | 200-280 Wh/kg | 1,500-2,000 | $110-140 | Moderate | Passenger cars (range) |
| NCA | 220-300 Wh/kg | 1,000-1,500 | $120-150 | Low | Tesla premium |
| LMFP | 160-200 Wh/kg | 3,000-5,000 | $90-110 | Good | Next-gen affordable |
| Solid-state | 300-500 Wh/kg* | 5,000+* | $200-400+ | Excellent | 2027-2030 commercial |
| Lead-acid | 30-50 Wh/kg | 300-500 | $50-80 | Moderate | Low-speed BD 3-wheelers |
🔑 Key insight for BD: LFP dominates affordable EVs, e-buses, and three-wheelers - no cobalt, stable in heat (28-35°C average), long calendar life. BYD Blade and CATL LFP cells lead imports.
Cell formats & pack terms
Cylindrical (Tesla 2170/4680)
Prismatic (CATL, BYD)
Pouch (LG, SK On)
Blade / LFP (BYD)
CTP - Cell-to-Pack
CTC - Cell-to-Chassis
SOC / SOH / DOD
BMS
C-rate
Battery OEM pricing (2024-25)
| OEM | Country | Chemistry | $/kWh | BD availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CATL | China | LFP, NMC, LMFP | $75-95 | Via Chinese EVs |
| BYD | China | LFP Blade | $70-90 | Direct (BYD imports) |
| LG Energy Solution | Korea | NCM, NCA | $95-120 | In imported EVs |
| Samsung SDI | Korea | NMC prismatic | $100-130 | Indirect |
| Panasonic | Japan | NCA, NMC | $100-130 | Indirect |
| Exide / Amara Raja | India | Lead-acid, LFP | $55-80 | Low-speed BD EVs |
Limitations
🔬 Technical
Thermal runaway in NMC/NCA needs active cooling (critical in BD heat). Fast-charge above 1C accelerates degradation. LFP self-discharge 2-3%/month. Below 80% SOH = EV retirement; repurpose for stationary storage.
💼 Business & political
Cobalt is 70% DRC-sourced (ESG risk). Lithium price swung $80k → $12k/ton (2022-24). CATL + BYD = over half of global cells; US/EU tariffs rising. BD battery import duty 25-37%. Almost no formal Li-ion recycling in BD.
Motor type comparison
| Type | Efficiency | Power density | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PMSM (perm. magnet sync) | 93-97% | Very high | Medium-High | Passenger cars (Tesla, BYD) |
| BLDC (brushless DC) | 85-95% | High | Medium | 2/3-wheelers, BD e-rickshaws |
| Induction (AC IM) | 88-95% | Medium | Low | Tesla S/X front, commercial |
| SRM (switched reluctance) | 88-95% | Medium | Low | Experimental, no rare earth |
| Axial flux | 95-98% | Extremely high | Very high | High-performance, aircraft |
Key parameters
Peak power50-800 kW2-wheeler 1-10 · 3-wheeler 5-15 · car 100-500
Peak torque100-1,000 NmInstant torque = EV's core advantage
Voltage48-800VBD 3-wheelers 48-72V · cars 400/800V
Efficiency peak93-97%vs ICE 25-35%
PMSM vs BLDC vs Induction
| Parameter | PMSM | BLDC | AC Induction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotor | Buried magnets (NdFeB) | Surface magnets | Squirrel cage |
| Rare-earth dependency | High (Nd, Dy) | Moderate | None |
| Part-load efficiency | Excellent | Good | Drops off |
| Cost premium | +30-50% vs induction | Moderate | Baseline |
| BD 3-wheeler use | Less common (cost) | Dominant | Some imported buses |
⚠️ Rare-earth risk: PMSM needs Neodymium and Dysprosium; China controls ~85% of rare-earth processing. Magnet-free motors (SRM, WRSM, induction) are gaining interest - a real sourcing-strategy talking point.
Bangladesh snapshot (2024-25)
E-rickshaws~1.5MMostly unregistered; largest EV segment
Registered 4-wheel EVs~2-5kUp from near-zero pre-2022
EV duty0-25%Cut from 200%+ effective (2023 budget)
Govt target30%EV share of new registrations by 2030
What's working vs failing
| Segment | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| E-rickshaws / nasimans | Working | Low cost ($1.5-3k), instant fuel savings, informal financing, simple tech |
| Battery swap (Oyika) | Growing | Solves charging gap; subscription removes battery cost barrier |
| Premium passenger EV | Early | High duty, thin charging, upper-middle class only |
| E-bus (BRTC) | Pilot | Grid instability + depot charging cost; donor-funded, slow |
| Public charging network | Nascent | Few chargers, low utilisation, no interoperability, slow permits |
| EV freight / last-mile | Opportunity | Pathao/Shohoz exploring; TCO compelling, charging is the bottleneck |
Comparable markets - lessons
🇮🇳 India - closest comparable
FAME II subsidy, Ola Electric (>1M scooters/yr), Tata EV cars, 15,000+ public chargers. Failing: sparse highway DCFC, subsidy dependency. Lesson: start with fleet/commercial, not personal; swap works for 2/3-wheelers; policy consistency is critical.
🇻🇳 Vietnam - fast mover
VinFast with govt backing, aggressive e-scooter adoption, EV mandate for public transport by 2030. Failing: proprietary "walled-garden" charging. Lesson: a domestic champion can catalyse a market; interoperable standards prevent lock-in.
🇵🇰 Pakistan - very similar to BD
E-rickshaws (>200k), NEVP 2025, Chinese partnerships. Failing: FX crisis killed imports, outages, informal-pack fires. Lesson: FX management is critical; local CKD assembly cuts import exposure.
Numbers to know
$75-95$/kWh LFP cell (2024)
$40kDC 60 kW charger, installed
>15%Utilisation for CPO viability
98%+Uptime SLA, commercial EVCS
OCPP 2.0.1Current charger protocol
$0.09-0.11BD electricity $/kWh (commercial)
3,000-6,000LFP cycle life
80%SOH = EV battery retirement
85%China share of rare-earth processing
Terminology
| Term | Meaning | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| OCPP | Open Charge Point Protocol (charger ↔ CSMS) | Interoperability; specify the version in RFPs |
| OCPI | CPO-to-CPO roaming protocol | Cross-network charging, like carrier roaming |
| ISO 15118 | V2G / Plug & Charge standard | Next-gen differentiator in proposals |
| CPO / eMSP | Charge Point Operator / e-Mobility Service Provider | Infrastructure owner vs customer-facing layer |
| C-rate | Charge/discharge rate vs capacity | Battery stress: 0.1-0.5C overnight, 2-5C DCFC |
| TCO | Total Cost of Ownership | The primary sales argument for fleet EV shift |
| EVSE | Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment | The proper term for the "charger" hardware |
| CKD / SKD | Completely / Semi Knocked Down kits | BD local-assembly duty-benefit strategy |
TCO example - e-rickshaw vs CNG auto (BDT)
| Cost item | CNG auto | E-rickshaw |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle cost | 3-4 lakh | 1.5-2.5 lakh |
| Daily energy | 400-600/day (CNG) | 80-120/day (grid) |
| Battery replacement (3 yr) | N/A | 30-50k |
| Maintenance / year | 20-40k | 5-10k |
| 3-year TCO | ~7-9 lakh | ~4-5 lakh |
💡 The pitch: In Bangladesh the EV value proposition is strongest in commercial fleet - rickshaws, buses, last-mile - where TCO saving is 30-50% over three years. The bottleneck is charging reliability and battery financing, not technology readiness.