Batteries in electric cars last longer than we think: Here’s the real problem

The key message of the study is that batteries do not “disintegrate” by themselves, but are mostly “pushed” by charging. Vehicles that are often charged on DC chargers above 100 kW can average about 3.0 percent degradation per year, while those that mostly use AC or lower power are about 1.5 percent. So fast charging isn’t ‘banned’, but it becomes a problem when it’s a habit rather than an exception.

Temperature also plays a role, but less so than filling. Geotab states that EVs in hot climates degrade on average about 0.4 percent faster per year than in temperate conditions. For our market, this means that the summer heat and the highway towards the sea are not an ideal combination if you still rely on HPC chargers all the time.

The psychology of the used market is also important for Croatian buyers. Most manufacturers are anyway ‘insured’ with long warranties, often about 8 years or 160,000 km with a threshold of 70 percent of capacity, so this kind of data is actually in favor of used EVs: the worst case scenario is rarer than you think. However, in the case of used models, it is worth asking how the car was charged: if it was fleet and constantly on fast charging, this can be seen in the battery condition.

If you want the battery to keep its shape as long as possible, the study boils down to simple habits: when you can, charge more slowly (AC or lower power), don’t keep the car for hours at 100 percent and don’t ‘kill’ it to zero. Leave fast charging for trips and situations when you really need time, not as a default.