Consumers overestimate time it takes for EV batteries to degrade

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IT APPEARS that consumers have a misinformed view of the time it takes for used electric car batteries to degrade.

When asked to estimate typical range loss after five years, 56% said they expected the fall to be 30% or more in a survey conducted by Startline Used Car Tracker.

In fact, research shows the real world result is likely to be less than half this figure. (Research: The average degradation for batteries is 2.3% each year according to a study of 6,300 EVs by Geotab.)

Anecdotal feedback shows there is a lot of misinformation among the general public about used car electric vehicle (EV) batteries and how quickly they degrade - and our findings clearly back that up.

Paul Burgess, CEO, Startline Motor Finance Tweet

Paul added that it was an important subject for the future of the used car market. He said that if someone is considering buying an EV for the first time, they may be put off if they hugely overestimate the speed at which electric cars lose range.

“The fact is that there is now quite a lot of real world information about battery life available and, as long as the previous owner has been sensible about the way in which the car has been charged, the drop-off in range is likely to be relatively low over time.”

He added that it was encouraging that 44% of people in Startline’s research had estimated the loss in range more accurately, saying the fall in range would be 20% or less.

Paul added: “This does arguably show that a sizeable minority of people are in the ballpark of getting the figure right, which is promising, but the used car sector clearly still much to do to educate people about how EV batteries perform over time.”