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Assessing battery life for used EVs is not that simple

The complexity of batteries can fuel dealer and consumer concerns and questions when
selling and buying used EVs. History offers little data.
February 13, 2024 08:01 AM | UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
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It's one of the most top-of-mind questions auto dealers and
vehicle buyers alike have about a used electric vehicle: What's
going on with the battery?
DIGITAL EDITION

For dealers, having a way to easily determine the state of that

battery is a critical point of concern. Some are wary of THIS WEEK'S
EDITION
acquiring used EVs when there is a chance they might have to
replace a costly battery before it can be retailed. EV battery SEE OUR >
replacements range from $5,000 to $20,000 based on the ARCHIVE

pack, size and manufacturer, according to EV battery and

range analytics firm Recurrent.

EV battery repair costs can dissuade would-be buyers, too.

But it's not so simple as determining "how much" is left in the

battery; it's more complex than that, said Recurrent CEO Scott
Case.

What is the difference between the health and life of an EV

battery?
It's an important distinction to think about, Case said. A used
EV battery's state of health is a measure of the ability of the
many lithium ion cells within to store energy compared with
those in a new battery. When a battery is new, its capacity to
store energy is higher. Depending on factors such as age,
temperature and charging habits, those cells can degrade.
Case said California and the European Union have made
pushes to disclose EV battery states of health, which would
include testing batteries in used EVs to estimate:


Capacity during charging

Capacity during discharging (i.e. driving)

Resistance, or how hard it is for electrons to move in
and out of each battery cell, which can affect vehicle
performance.

So what is EV battery life, then?

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Battery life, on the other hand, can be thought of as how long

a battery may be used in a vehicle for transportation
purposes. Generally, the oldest EV batteries date back to
2010, Case said.

Though some individual EV batteries from that early era have

certainly failed, the industry has not yet seen the end of life of
older-generation batteries, Case said.

Can the mile range of a used EV battery be determined?

It is possible to examine an individual used EV and come up

with a tight mileage range for it, Case said. Estimating an
exact range is not feasible, he said, because how far an EV
can go on a single charge varies wildly according to exterior
temperatures, how the heating and cooling system is being
used, how fast it's being driven and other factors.

What about predicting how long a used EV battery will last?

How long an EV battery will last can be projected based on

how it's aged so far, Case said. However, he's not aware of
anyone who is able to do that with precision; there are too
many variables that go into it and the future can't be known,
he said.

Have EV batteries evolved?

Technology used for EV battery chemistry has progressed

since 2010, Case said. It shouldn't be assumed the battery
 cells of an EV such as the 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E will
perform similarly over time to battery cells of a 2012 Nissan
Leaf, he said.

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Within reason, today's EV batteries are going to last at least

as long as ones from the early days of EVs, if not longer, Case
said.

Why are dealers sometimes uncertain about used EVs?

Dealers acquire used EVs through multiple channels —

wholesale auctions, via trade-ins and through private-party
purchases. For a long time, there was little readily available
information on how to determine used-EV battery life and
health. That made some dealers uncomfortable with the
product, Case said.

Wary of battery replacement costs, dealers sometimes

assume the worst of a used EV.

From what Case has seen in the last four years with
Recurrent, current-generation EV batteries are beating
expectations. Unfortunately, Case said, a few problems that
cropped up with first-generation batteries in the early 2010s
— including poor battery system design that degraded
performance — gave some dealers a bad first impression of
used EVs.

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