Why battery health checks are essential to used EV sales

Article author: Paul Burgess
Position: CEO, Startline Motor Finance

While the used electric car market appears to be stabilising at least for the moment, it remains a potentially volatile area of motor retail, with consumers apparently still unsure of the wisdom of investing in an EV.

While they typically have a number of concerns, the biggest worry for these used buyers appears to be the potential for battery failure or severe loss of charging capacity. They know it could cost several thousand pounds to buy a replacement.

In real-world conditions, of course, these concerns are largely proving to be unfounded. There are now millions of electric cars on roads across the world and battery degradation is generally happening much more slowly than anticipated. Meanwhile, outright battery failure – although not unknown – remains a rare occurrence.

It was with this situation in mind that we recently commissioned some research into used car buyer views on EV battery health checks as part of our monthly Startline Used Car Tracker series of reports. The findings are conclusive. Almost nine out of 10 motorists (87%) say it is important to have an independent, certified used electric car assessment showing how well previous owners have looked after the vehicle’s battery.

In addition, 83% want to know how long the battery will take to fully charge and 82% also want verification on the amount of battery capacity that has been lost since new. Furthermore, 81% are interested how much capacity it is likely to be lost in the future, and 79% want an indication of how much charge the battery currently holds.

The best batteries

All of these results underline the value of some form of formal testing that shows the battery of the vehicle they are considering buying has been well-looked-after along with a good idea of its present condition and how it is likely to perform in the future.

One of the promises made in the new Labour election manifesto was the introduction of a standardised battery health check and, in our view, this would be a very good idea. Having a government-backed and approved battery test that provides the information consumers want would be a very real boost for the used electric car market.

However, that is unlikely to happen quickly, we suspect and, until then, there are a range of third-party battery health checks available from a number of suppliers. While we’d claim no technical expertise in this area, most of these appear to be credible and their adoption could prove an important boost for retailers looking to build more confidence into their EV proposition.

A further step to consider is the adoption of a third party EV warranty, which are just starting to appear on the market. While manufacturer battery cover generally runs to eight years, it can be reassuring for a customer to have a warranty in their hand that provides specific protection against the potential battery failure eventuality that they dread.

Checks and warranties of this type are new ground for most dealers but it seems inevitable that they will become a standard feature of the used EV market. Our research suggests that this change probably needs to happen as soon as possible.