How Long Do Electric Car Batteries Last?
Many people want to know how long do electric car batteries last before taking the plunge and purchasing one.
You don’t want to buy an EV only to find out it the batteries don’t last very long, making it an expensive mistake.
In this guide, we’ll show the average lifespan of an electric car battery and the factors that affect a car battery life.
Let’s get started…
How Long Do EV Batteries Last?
On average, batteries can last around 10 years with some going well past that mark and working towards 15-20 years depending if you keep it well maintained and get a bit lucky.
Most people will look to upgrade their car before they consider replacing the electric car battery.
As long as you look after your battery and car as one, you should never really have to worry about a replacement. If you do go to buy an electric car, you can enquire about the condition of the battery before you buy.
How Much Does An Electric Car Battery Cost?
As electric cars develop the overall costs are coming down but at the minute, the battery is one of the most expensive parts in building electric cars, a cost which gets put on the consumer.
Every manufacturer will charge you different for a replacement battery, but from our research, you will be looking at between £4000 – £8000 depending on the make and model of your car, the size of it and due to the limited supply and high demand, make batteries for electric cars expensive to purchase.
To try and keep costs down if you have to buy a battery, you should consider shopping around looking for deals and keep to strict servicing schedules for your electric car batteries.
What Electric Car Batteries Are Used For An EV?
An electric car uses lithium-ion batteries to store the energy. These types of batteries are found in household appliances such as laptops and mobiles as they are quick to charge and can store energy efficiently.
They also still hold their charge even after hundreds if not thousands of charging cycles.
Does An Electric Car Battery Last Many Years?
It’s difficult to give an exact number of years a battery will last because it all depends on how frequently you drive, whether you charge your battery to the maximum every charge and whether your EV is properly maintained.
In theory, most electric car batteries should last a minimum of 10 years or about 150,000 miles.
Is An Electric Car Battery Covered Under Warranty?
When you buy an electric vehicle, you will find most batteries come with a standard warranty, this is either done on the number of years you own the car or how many miles you do, whichever comes first.
Below is a list of warranties that we found from different EV manufacturers:
Nissan – Eight Years / 100,000 miles
Tesla – Eight Years / 120,000 miles
Hyundai – Eight Years / 125,000 miles
Seat – Eight Years / 100,000 miles
Volvo – Eight Years / 100,000 miles
Analysts predict that the average battery can last about 12 years or 150,000 miles and once they’re finished they can then be used as storage for renewable energy.
What Factors Affect A Car Battery Life
Rapid Charging
This is great if your in a hurry and need to charge your car quickly, but if you were to do this all the time would it damage your battery in the long term? It does actually speed up the process of degradation in batteries due to the increased levels of heat that are being used to charge the electric vehicle battery quicker.
Maximum Charging
If you constantly let your battery drain to almost empty and then fully charge it to 100%, this will also contribute to the degradation of your battery. Some manufacturers won’t allow you to charge more than 80% or drop below 20% as this is the optimal range you should be within to allow your electric car battery to last much longer
The Way You Drive
If you constantly let your battery drain to almost empty and then fully charge it to 100%, this will also contribute to the degradation of your battery. Some manufacturers won’t allow you to charge more than 80% or drop below 20% as this is the optimal range you should be within to allow your electric car battery to last much longer
How To Extend The Lifespan Of A Battery
Below, we are going to give you some tips and tricks you can implement to battery and car go further, how far, that depends on you!
Keep Within 20-80% – If you stay within this percentage your battery will have a far greater chance of going for longer. It’s when the battery is constantly drained and then charged to the maximum, that is when it starts to damage the battery.
Avoid Hot or Cold Weather – Were talking about very hot and cold here, extreme weather has been known to impact a battery negatively and affect how long it lasts and how many miles it can travel. Your best to charge in normal weather temperatures and just wait for any extreme weather to pass by before charging your electric cars.
Drive Sensibly – Try not to be too harsh when pulling away as this can contribute to wear and tear on your electric cars battery. You better off taking things slow and steady and this will help preserve the battery.
When To Replace An Electric Car Battery
Electric car batteries were built to last so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about replacing them, not unless you’ve had your car for years or some serious miles.
The average electric car with its battery should last about 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first.
If you drive more vertically, then this can of course decrease this time frame but if you are sensible and look after electric cars with regular maintenance, there’s no reason why they won’t support you for years to come.
What Happens To Batteries That Can No Longer Charger Electric Cars
Usually, once a battery has come to the end of its life in electric cars, it can be repurposed to store energy in places such as homes, factories and shopping centres. This reduces people disposing of them elsewhere and causing more pollution.
If the battery is that bad and can’t be used at all to store energy, then it can be dismantled and it’s raw materials can be extracted such as lithium which can then be used for other projects or even used for a new EV.
Last Word
Hopefully, that has helped you at least answer one of the many questions you may have about electric car batteries. Knowing how long they last is important to customers as its a hefty price to pay if they pack up after a couple of years.
Thankfully they don’t as they are well built and nearly all of them come with a warranty of at least 7 years or 100,000 miles. This gives you peace of mind that your battery will survive for years to come as long as you look after it in terms of driving sensibly, regular maintenance and staying between the 20-80% charging advice.
Some people don’t know that looking after an electric car can be difficult if you’re new to the industry, that’s why it’s important to learn as much as you can.
