Electric vehicle battery degradation and impact on RVs assessed in whitepaper

Ensuring that used electric vehicle (EV) batteries are properly assessed before sale is the focus of a new whitepaper from the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA).

‘Electric Vehicle Battery Health: What the Remarketing Sector Needs to Know’, covers topics including how quickly EV batteries are likely to degrade, how their state of health can be measured before sale and what is being done to make monitoring and reporting battery health easier.

It also examines how battery health affects residual values (RVs) and why a used EV battery health checking standard is important for vehicle remarketers and buyers.

The whitepaper has been written by battery electrochemist Euan McTurk, creator and presenter of Plug Life Television, a YouTube channel about EVs.

According to the whitepaper, battery health is a powerful bargaining chip for consumers when negotiating a deal.

For example, it says it's common for savvy buyers of 24 and 30kWh Leafs to count the state of health bars on the dashboard and demand a reduction in price if the vehicle has anything less than a full complement of 12 bars.

This is evidenced by the oldest Leafs from 2011-2013 which - with the original cell chemistry, nine out of 12 state of health bars showing and with 60,000-80,000 miles on the clock – are still typically fetching around £4,500-£5,000 on Auto Trader, around double the price of an equivalent petrol or diesel Ford Focus.

Philip Nothard, VRA chair, said: “We know that worries over battery health and the rate at which batteries decline are key barriers to many consumers when it comes to considering buying a used EV. This white paper is designed to give people working in all areas of remarketing the information that they need to help allay those fears, which are largely unfounded.

“This is the second in a series of white papers on EV remarketing that the VRA has produced and the first, on charging, has been very well received.

“We’re planning on creating more, covering a range of areas concerning electrification for the remarketing sector. There remains a huge appetite for information in this area from our members and others in the sector.”

Most modern, liquid-cooled EV batteries being made today should last at least 300,000 miles, with Elon Musk claiming in 2019 that Tesla’s long-range Model 3 and Y batteries should cover 500,000, the whitepaper says. This lifespan is set to continue to increase, with academics who are close to Tesla unveiling one million and four million-mile batteries.

For more about EV battery degradation, click here.