EV Batteries likely to outlive the car

Among the many myths surrounding EVs is that, given the cost of the battery, the car will need throwing away after a few years, when the battery fails.

This misconception was among the first to be addressed in the ‘Little Book of EV Myths’ published earlier this year by FairCharge. They pointed out that Tesla’s 2022 Impact Report stated that the battery degradation on its older S and X models after 200,000 miles is 12%.

New research, carried out by Geotab has now revealed that electric car batteries can last for 20 years or more.

Geotab, who provide vehicle and asset tracking across 160 countries, examined the batteries of nearly 5,000 fleet and private EVs, with around 1.5 million days of telematics data, to explore how today’s batteries are performing.

When Geotab undertook similar tests in 2019, they found that batteries were degrading by about 2.3% a year. Five years on and that figure has fallen to 1.8%, considerably better than the wear on drivetrain components in an ICE vehicle.

A battery’s degradation is seen in its declining ability to hold a charge. Geotab explain: ‘An EV battery’s condition is called its state of health (SOH). Batteries start their life with 100% SOH and over time they deteriorate. For example, a 60 kWh battery with 90% SOH would effectively act like a 54 kWh battery.’

In some of the cars tested, the battery was seen to be degrading by as little as 1% a year. They also found no evidence that increased mileage was associated with increased battery degradation.

David Savage, Vice President for the UK and Ireland at Geotab said: ‘With these higher levels of sustained health, batteries in the latest EV models will comfortably outlast the usable life of the vehicle and will likely not need to be replaced.

‘However, we still see battery reliability being used as a stick to beat EVs with. Hopefully, data like ours can finally put these myths to bed. The fact is that a 1.8% decline in battery health is unlikely to have a significant impact on most driver’s daily vehicle needs, and this number will only come down further with new EV models and improved battery technology. People should feel confident that many current EVs are suitable and cost-effective to replace a range of light, medium and heavy-duty ICE vehicles.’

Reza Shaybani, Co-Founder & CEO of EV Network contacted us to add: ‘The rate at which electric vehicles are evolving and outperforming their petrol counterparts is a reminder of the innovation, skill and knowledge going into creating the cars of today that will last for decades, whilst traditional motors continue to be outdated.

‘Just yesterday the government launched an £88 million funding package to further tech for zero-emission vehicles, following a bumper August where sales of new and used electric cars soared across the UK. However, future-proof cars need future-proof charging infrastructure including a country-wide network of superfast charging hubs. The EV Network is already making this a reality, to make sure the UK is ready for not just the year of electric innovation, but the decades to come.’