New research carried out by insurance company AXA UK has revealed that over a third of people who are not planning to buy an EV are put off by worries over battery life.
As a result of these finding, the company are calling on the government to facilitate the introduction of battery health certificates and, in the longer term, to oblige manufacturers to provide users with real-time information of the health of their car battery.
Their research found that the two greatest deterrents to buying a second-hand EV among the sceptics were price (66%) and long-term battery health (52%)
Under current regulations EV batteries must come with an eight year or 100,000 mile warranty but as AXA point out, this provides the owner with no real insight into the battery’s health over time.
They also believe that buyers need more education around the whole issue of EV batteries, their differences from ICE batteries and subtleties such as the difference between battery health (how the condition of the battery compares to a brand-new battery) and battery charge (how well it retains a charge).
As a first step, AXA UK are calling on the government to adopt the UN’s GTR 22 which outlines minimum performance requirements for the battery state of health.
It is expected that once Euro 7 is implemented in 2027, EV owners will be able to see the overall state of health of their battery in real-time but only for vehicles manufactured from that date.
Despite the present government promising in its manifesto to ‘support buyers of second-hand electric vehicles through standardising the information supplied on the condition of batteries’ they have shown no interest in adopting GTR 22, which AXA suggest may leave us falling further behind on the transition to EVs.
From their perspective as insurers, AXA also point out that health certificates could have a positive impact on insurance premiums by allowing insurers to easily assess the value of a second-hand EV, in the same way that mileage is used as a yardstick for ICE vehicles.
The report concludes with four policy recommendations:
- Guidelines should be published to support standardised battery health testing
- Adoption of the aforementioned GTR 22
- Garages should look at methods of delivering battery health testing for EVs
- The Government should invest in technicians’ skills to support garages being able to safely work on and test EVs
Marco Distefano, Managing Director at AXA Retail said: ‘Battery health certificates have the potential to boost consumer confidence and drive demand to create a thriving second-hand EV market. It’s clear that motorists have concerns around both the lifespan and cost of electric vehicles and without addressing these issues there is a risk that EV uptake will remain low.
‘We urge the Government to urgently publish guidelines to support standardised battery health testing. Not only will this stimulate the used EV market, but it also has the potential to positively impact insurance premiums by providing a barometer for assessing the value of EVs in a similar way that mileage is used for vehicles with an engine.’
The full report titled: ‘Sparking Change: The Case for Delivering EV Battery Health Certificates’ can be read here.