The vehicle manufacturers are launching new and more hybrid and fully electric vehicles which are green but still expensive for the major consumer groups. On the contrary, Micro-hybrids with start-stop systems are easy to mate with the existing internal combustion engine and considered to be 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 a high rate partial state of charge conditions (HRPSoC). This operating mode is quite challenging as it involves short duration of charge and discharge with high current rates. There is a wide variety of batteries (from standard flooded and enhanced flooded to AGM) which all are claimed to be “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). Large performance gap exists 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.