Generally, electric car batteries last for as long as the rest of the car. But like with your phone or laptop battery, they degrade over time. Ultimately the cells should still be providing at least 70 percent of their capacity even after 200,000 miles, which is the sort of mileage that few cars ever reach, whether they’re ICE or EV.
However, while secondhand prices for EVs have been plummeting, evidence is building that their batteries could last longer than the eight-year warranties most come with. In fact, they could still be very usable even after 20 years, potentially giving full-electric cars a longer useful life than many fossil-fuel equivalents.
Data published in September 2024 by Geotab, a transportation telematics company, claims the “vast majority of EV batteries will outlast the usable life of the vehicle”. The company says how, with a sample size of 5,000 EVs representing 1.5 million days of ownership, the average battery degrades by 1.8 per cent per year.
Here's how electric cars fare on the second-hand market Modern EVs are designed to last 15-20 years, comparable to or even longer than traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The key factor in their longevity is the battery.
The company says how, with a sample size of 5,000 EVs representing 1.5 million days of ownership, the average battery degrades by 1.8 per cent per year. Some electric cars, the company says, have batteries that degrade by just one per cent each year.
A study by Recurrent in the US found that EV battery replacements are uncommon, with only 2.5 per cent of vehicles requiring replacements across all years and models, excluding major recalls.