Vehicle manufacturers are launching more hybrid and fully electric vehicles, and although seen as “green”, they are an expensive vehicle alternative for consumer groups. On the contrary, micro-hybrids with start-stop systems are easy to make with existing internal combustion engine technologies and are considered the most affordable and convenient way to cut fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions (up to 10%). Lead-acid batteries (LAB) in micro-hybrid typically operate under high-rate partial state of charge conditions (HRPSoC). This operating mode is quite challenging as it involves short durations of charge and discharge with high current rates. A wide variety of batteries (from standard flooded and enhanced flooded to AGM) are claimed to be a “better choice” for micro-hybrid applications, especially for European markets. A technical analysis of the current state of automotive batteries available on the Indian market has been performed and presented here. Standard flooded SLI and AGM batteries were tested to understand the main performance limitations, especially regarding 17.5 % DoD units & 50 % DoD cycles of EN 50342-6 standard (Lead-acid starter batteries – Part 6: Batteries for Micro-Cycle Applications). Significant performance gaps exist between Flooded and AGM in the 50 % DoD cycles and 17.5 % DoD units. Tear-down analyses of cycled batteries revealed contrastingly different failure mechanisms for the Flooded and AGM batteries.