EV battery degradation best and worst – survey

EV owners – especially potential new ones – often wonder how long an EV battery will last and whether it will need replacing.

A survey in the United Kingdom by Select Car Leasing analysed the year 1 capacity percentages of some of the world’s favourite EVs to identify the best and worst models for battery degradation.

Select Car Leasing (Select) analysed 64 electric cars released between 2012 and 2019 to determine if strides are being made by car manufacturers to improve the battery degradation rates of their vehicles.

It also investigated which current 2019 model has the most durable battery, whether buyers should go new or used for their EV (or car share) and revealed top tips on how you can make your EV battery last longer.

Some of the lithium-ion batteries in the first commercially available EVs suffered greatly from battery degradation, and the Nissan Leaf was no different. As data shows, the 2013–2015 Leaf models are currently down to around 80% of their full battery capacity, Select reports.

The 2015 model lost 6% of its battery capacity in the first year alone, while the 2014 model is 23% down in year 5. Select says the Leaf comes with an eight-year or 160,934km (100,000-mile) warranty in the UK. These figures look much more favourable for the 2017 model, which is down 5% in year 3 and the 2019 model which saw just a 1% reduction in performance over the first year, Select adds.

To find out if the trend of huge improvements in battery capacity retention rates evident in the Nissan Leaf is the same across the board, Select analysed the year 1 capacity percentages of some of the world’s favourite EV cars.

Comparing the findings below to the 6% loss of capacity within the first year for the Nissan Leaf 2016 model, you can see that even the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which lost the most battery capacity on our list, was less than 4% down in the first year. That’s around 2% less that the Nissan Leaf over the same period, Select says.

Tesla’s range features prominently in Select’s top 10 with the Model 3, X and S losing a meagre 1% capacity over the first year. However, it’s bad news for Volkswagen as their flagship e-Golf and Golf GTE models slump to the bottom 10, Select reports.

“This is surprising considering the car brand’s reputation for high quality and efficiency but could be reversed in the coming years as VW prepare the ‘iD’ electric range for worldwide release.”