Worries about battery life deterring you from buying an electric vehicle? Relax, says new study

Battery changes are rare, most defective units are exchanged under warranty, and degradation is not linear, the research found.

for Chris Chilton

1 hour ago

There are still plenty of reasons why you might not want an electric car, including the upfront cost, the limited driving range of some models, and the lack of a convenient charging point in your home. But one factor that worries people who like to keep a new vehicle until it’s very old is battery life.

We’ve all experienced a decline in the performance of our cell phone batteries after a few months of use, and electric vehicles use similar lithium-ion battery technology, although the sheer size of these car batteries means they cost thousands of dollars to replace, not only. hundreds

But the researchers behind a new study by Automatic recurring suggests that battery life may not be such a big concern after all. They found that in a community of 15,000 electric cars, only 1.5 percent of batteries have been replaced if mass recalls like the one affecting the 2017-19 Chevy Bolt are excluded.

The team also notes that most battery replacements occur while the car is still under warranty. While a typical manufacturer’s car warranty may only last three to five years, the federal minimum warranty for an electric vehicle battery is eight years or 100,000 miles (161,000 km), and many automakers offer much more peace of mind than that. Rivian, for example, covers its batteries for 175,000 miles (282,000 km). And that’s okay, too, because in a separate study, Recurrent found that replacing the battery could cost anywhere from $3,000 to $23,000 depending on the model.

Related: Insurers are totaling EVs for minor battery issues, and that’s a problem for everyone

The other big takeaway is that battery degradation is not linear. An electric vehicle might experience a marked drop in electric range in the first 32,000 km (20,000 miles), but it stabilizes after that and can remain nearly the same for several years.

However, there are some caveats with this study. The first is this recurrent’The mission is to provide more “confidence in used electric car transactions” and “accelerate the global adoption of electric vehicles.” We’re not suggesting the results aren’t 100 percent valid, but Recurrent isn’t a neutral party. The company also admits that the relative youth of the electric vehicle sector (30 percent of electric vehicles on the road in 2022 were less than six years old) means we won’t have a full picture of battery life for some time, including the effects of long-term DC fast charging on battery health.

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There are still plenty of reasons why you might not want an electric car including the up-front cost, the limited driving range of some models and the lack of a convenient charging spot at your home. But one factor that concerns people who like to keep a new vehicle until it’s a very old one is battery lifespan."
  [1]=>
  string(270) "



We’ve all experienced a drop-off in performance of our cellphone batteries after a few months of use and EVs employ similar lithium-ion battery tech, though the huge size of those car batteries means they cost thousands of dollars to replace, not just hundreds."
  [2]=>
  string(526) "



But the researchers behind a new study for Recurrent Auto suggest that battery lifespan might not be such a big worry after all. They found that in a community of 15,000 electric cars only 1.5 percent of batteries have been replaced if you exclude massive recalls like the one affecting the 2017-19 Chevy Bolt."
  [3]=>
  string(580) "



The team also points out that most battery replacements happen when the car is still covered by a warranty. While a regular manufacturer car warranty might only last for three or five years, the federal minimum warranty on an EV battery is eight years or 100,000 miles (161,000 km), and many automakers offer much more peace of mind than that. Rivian, for example, covers its batteries for 175,000 miles (282,000 km). And it’s just as well, because in a separate study Recurrent found that battery replacement could cost anywhere between $3,000-23,000 depending on model."
  [4]=>
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Related: Insurers Are Totaling EVs For Minor Battery Issues, And That’s A Problem For Everyone"
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The other big takeway is that battery degradation isn’t linear. An EV might suffer a marked drop in electric driving range in the first 20,000 miles (32,000 km), but stabilizes after that and can remain almost the same for several years."
  [6]=>
  string(683) "



There are couple of caveats with this study however. The first is that Recurrent’s mission is to provide more “confidence in pre-owned electric car transactions” and to “accelerate the overall adoption of electric vehicles.” We’re not suggesting that results aren’t 100 percent valid, but Recurrent is hardly a neutral party. The company also admits that the relative youth of the EV sector (30 percent of EVs on the road in 2022 were under six-years-old) means we won’t have a full picture about battery lifespan for some time, including the effects of long-term rapid DC charging on battery health."
  [7]=>
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