Industry-backed battery health check for EVs ‘urgently’ required

The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has added its voice to a growing call for an industry-backed battery health certificate for electric vehicles (EVs).

Ric Baird, board director at the AFP, says more needs to be done to make EVs feel as much a secure and sensible purchase as a petrol or diesel equivalent.

“The AFP and many other bodies were signatories to a British Vehicle Leasing and Rental Association (BVRLA) open letter last week, asking for more Government support for electrification in the used sector, especially focusing on the need to make EVs as affordable as possible while shoring up residual values. This is certainly required.

“What is perhaps receiving less attention – although included in the letter – is the need to create more consumer confidence in used EVs, overcoming the real hurdles that exist as well as the large number of distortions and half-truths in circulation. 

“There is an argument that generating a sense of everyday normality and absence of risk around EVs is as important as any financial considerations.”

Used BEV values having fallen by 50% over the past two years and are forecast to fall a further 28% by 2030.   

Chief among these confidence factors, he explained, were establishing the long-term reliability of EV batteries and making charging as economical and accessible as possible.

“There is a huge amount of misinformation around about EV batteries, ranging from their supposed propensity to self-combust to the speed at which they degrade,” he said. 

“However, all the available evidence now shows them to be stable, robust and long-lasting, with degradation generally occurring at a slow and predictable rate. That needs to be communicated.”

New research from insurers Axa UK, published in March, showed that battery health certificates could play a significant role in stimulating the UK’s used EV market by providing a measure for vehicle value that doesn’t currently exist. 

Axa says they could have a positive impact on insurance premiums by making it easier for insurers to accurately assess the value of second-hand EVs in a similar way that mileage is used for vehicles with an engine.

Baird continued: “What we really need to see very quickly is the establishment of an industry-backed battery health check designed to reassure consumers in this respect, providing them with the credible information they need to make an informed buying decision. 

“While the Government is reportedly working on a project to deliver this, it can’t arrive soon enough.”

Axa UK’s report, ‘Sparking Change – the case for delivering EV battery health certificates’, highlights the benefits of standardised battery health certificates in increasing demand for used EVs and alleviating consumer concerns. 

The certificates, it says, would provide consistency in battery health information for all makes and models of used EVs to give consumers more confidence in the longevity of the vehicles they are buying.