Electric Vehicle (EV) Battery Concerns ‘Largely Unfounded’

Concerns over the long-term health of electric vehicle (EV) batteries were, alongside affordability and the capacity of charging infrastructure, the most significant barriers to people switching to an EV in the used car market, according to a report published by the Green Finance Institute in June. However, the growing evidence that used EVs are becoming more affordable and that the number of high-power charging hubs in the UK has more than doubled since September last year is now being joined by research that addresses battery degradation concerns positively.

The Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) has published a new white paper called “Electric Vehicle Battery Health: What the Remarketing Sector Needs to Know”, written by battery electrochemist Euan McTurk, and it is broadly optimistic about an EVs battery life expectancy. Its findings see VRA Chair Philip Nothard reflecting;

“This white paper is designed to give people working in all areas of remarketing the information that they need to help allay those fears, which are largely unfounded.”

The document covers topics including how quickly EV batteries are likely to degrade, how their state of health can be measured before the sale, what is being done to make monitoring and reporting battery health easier, how battery health affects residual values and why a used EV battery health checking standard is important for vehicle remarketers and buyers. While some older EVs, such as the early Nissan Leafs, did not have thermal management systems, which impacted battery degradation, newer technologies, such as batteries from mid-2010 Teslas, show degradation of less than 10% after 160,000 miles.

The findings will encourage dealers and buyers, and the VRA findings should not be viewed in isolation.

A US study completed in March by Recurrent Motors Inc. — a Seattle-based battery analysis company — showed that overall, EV batteries are very reliable and long-lasting. They may last longer than the vehicles themselves.

The study took real-world data from 15,000 EVs of various makes and models in the U.S.

The data showed that most EVs driven close to 100,000 miles still have at least 90 per cent of their original range left.

One final point: in 2019, Elon Musk claimed that Tesla’s long range Model 3 and Y batteries should cover 500,000. This lifespan will continue to increase, with academics close to Tesla unveiling one million and four million mile batteries in recent tests.