As consumers we may make purchasing decisions on the basis of what other people tell us. Once those people were trusted friends, but nowadays we increasingly rely on feedback from social media. Sometimes it pays to get a second opinion from a technical expert. If you are considering purchasing an electric car, then you may be interested in some new insights into EV battery life.
Short EV Battery Life Is Simply Not True
Anonymous contributors on social media claim that electric vehicles have no resale value, because their batteries do not last. There are two ways to test this theory:
- Charge and recharge electric vehicle batteries numerous times under laboratory conditions.
- Test electric vehicle batteries in regular use, to determine how well they are actually doing.
This latter method has only become available, as electric vehicles age in real time. German battery specialists P3 decided to analyze this data, and gained intriguing new insights into EV battery life.
Fresh P3 Insights Into Electric Vehicle Batteries
P3 energy management consultants gathered data from 7,000 electric cars, after a trial study of their own fleet. Their goal was to obtain transparently reliable data, to offset ‘unfounded fears’ in some quarters. In this way they hoped to challenge misconceptions affecting the transition to electric transport.
The energy management consultants focussed their attention on the degradation of EV battery capacity over time. This is a technical term for how long batteries last between recharges, and ultimately their driving ranges. However, P3 were also mindful of other factors such as driving style, and the extent of fast charging too.
What the Energy Consultants Found in a Nutshell
The picture in the graph from their report says it all, as we confirm below:
- Battery capacity and driving range reduce to 95% over the first 20,000 miles.
- After that, the degradation slows, so that 90% of capacity remains after 60,000 miles.
- Beyond that, the trend line is gentle. Capacity is still 87% after 120 to 180,000 miles.
- The battery may give good service for up to 20 years, after which it may enter a second life
An internal combustion car running on gasoline may well be cheaper up front. However, if we factor in the cost of the fuel over the lifetime of that vehicle, then we may be in for a surprise.
More Information
New Factor Causing Degradation in Batteries
Reasons for Capacity Loss in Batteries
Preview Image: Diminishing EV Battery Capacity
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