The UK’s largest research of used electrical automobiles has discovered that battery degradation could also be far much less extreme than many drivers and business observers assume.
Battery diagnostics specialist Generational analysed greater than 8,000 electrical vehicles and lightweight industrial automobiles, assessing battery state of well being, SoH, throughout 36 producers. The findings, printed in its 2025 Battery Efficiency Index, supply contemporary perception into how age and mileage have an effect on EV battery degradation charges.
Robust retention even at 8 to 12 years
The research discovered:
- 4 to five 12 months previous EVs present a median battery SoH of 93.53%
- 8 to 9 12 months previous automobiles retain a median 85% capability
- The general fleet common SoH was 95.15%
- Excessive mileage EVs, 100,000 miles plus, continuously returned 88 to 95% SoH
Most producers guarantee batteries to no less than 70% SoH for eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. Generational’s knowledge suggests the overwhelming majority of automobiles considerably outperform this threshold.
Nevertheless, the analysis additionally highlights that as automobiles age, the hole between the perfect and worst performers widens. Within the 8 to 12 12 months cohort:
- twenty fifth percentile sat at 82% SoH
- Median was 85.04%
- seventy fifth percentile reached 90%
This rising variance underlines why particular person battery evaluation is turning into extra vital than headline averages.
Mileage isn’t the entire story
One of the notable conclusions is that mileage alone is an unreliable indicator of battery situation.
In some circumstances, a 3 12 months previous fleet automotive with 90,000 miles confirmed stronger battery well being than a six 12 months previous automobile with simply 30,000 miles. Charging patterns, obligation cycle and utilization seem to play a better function in EV battery degradation charges than easy mileage figures.
For driver trainers contemplating switching to electrical, or advising pupils and fleet shoppers, this reinforces the significance of understanding battery well being knowledge reasonably than counting on assumptions inherited from the inner combustion period.
Implications for trainers and fleets
For ADIs and PDIs operating electrical tuition automobiles, the findings are reassuring. Excessive annual mileages typical of coaching automobiles don’t routinely translate into extreme battery degradation.
For fleet trainers and people concerned in gray fleet or company driver coaching:
- Verified battery testing can strengthen residual values
- Correct SoH knowledge helps complete value of possession calculations
- Holding intervals may be deliberate with better confidence
As used EVs more and more enter the coaching market, battery transparency might develop into as elementary as service historical past or mileage checks.
Philip Nothard, chair of the Automobile Remarketing Affiliation, mentioned patrons place “an enormous emphasis on battery well being” and that transparency can be essential in dispelling misconceptions round EV batteries.
Supported by wider analysis
The findings echo a separate giant scale evaluation by Geotab, which examined greater than 22,700 EVs throughout 21 makes and fashions. That research reported a mean annual battery degradation price of two.3%, in comparison with 1.8% the earlier 12 months.
Collectively, the analysis means that whereas EV battery degradation charges are actual and measurable, they don’t seem to be the systemic danger as soon as feared.
For the trainer neighborhood, this may increasingly assist handle one of the persistent considerations raised by learners and oldsters contemplating electrical automobiles: battery longevity.
Because the used EV market matures, unbiased battery well being verification seems to be set to play a central function in pricing, confidence and long run adoption.
Supply by way of: Fleet Information
