How Long Does The Battery Last In Electric Car

Electric Car Battery Warranty

The highest running cost for an electric car occurs when replacing its battery. However, the battery price keeps falling, and the numbers are expected to reach below USD 100/kWh by 2030, according to the current prediction. Most automakers offer a warranty that covers the cost of replacing batteries of an electric car for a certain number of years or distance. The number of years or range covered by the battery warranty of each company varies according to countries. Kia provides a battery warranty of 3 to 10 years for its electric vehicle lineup. The coverage of Kias battery warranty depends on your nation, so we recommend you visit our website or contact an authorized Kia dealer in your neighborhood to find out how many years/miles or kilometers your model can be covered under our battery warranty.

Keeping Your Electric Car’s Battery In Top Condition Could Prolong Its Life Here’s Everything You Need To Know

Battery life is one of the biggest worries potential buyers have when considering an electric car. Along with range and the fear of running out of power mid-journey, known as range anxiety the way an electric cars battery might degrade over time is considered a big barrier to EV ownership.

Like any battery, including the one in your mobile phone or laptop, the batteries in electric cars will lose some of their capacity over extended use. Below, weve explained why this happens and offered advice on how you can keep your electric car battery in top condition for longer.

How Long Does It Take To Charge A Tesla Ev Fully

This process can take you from 1 to 12 hours, depending on the type of battery and charger. There are different chargers, including standard wall chargers, high-power wall chargers, super speed types, etc.

The standard charger has the slowest speed, and the amount of power it charges per hour is only enough to go about 3 miles Meanwhile, the rate of super-speed charging is the fastest it only takes about 30 minutes to complete everything.

The wall connector type has a medium speed it takes about 8-10 hours.

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Electric Car Battery Manufacturers

There are a large number of electric car battery manufacturers. Some are well known such as Tesla and Nissan, while others such as BYD or LG Chem, may not be as well-known around the world, but are nevertheless, significant players in the electric car battery manufacturing space. LG Chem, for instance, supply electric vehicle batteries for the likes of Volvo, Renault, Ford and Chevrolet. Not only that, but they have also signed an agreement with Telsa to supply all Telsa produced in China with batteries.

Another major electric vehicle manufacturer BYD is China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer more than doubled its sales in December 2020 compared to the same time in 2019 and have been selling more battery-powered vehicles since the beginning of 2019. Not only are these battery manufacturers focusing on electric vehicles, but they are also working on battery storage of electricity for residential, commercial and industrial applications.

How Long Does The Electric Car Battery Last

As electric vehicles and other vehicles powered by electricity get more and more popular, many people looking to switch are interested in knowing the duration of the battery in an EV lasts?

While battery lifespan varies depending on the manufacturer and the batterys age, it is possible for new batteries to be competitive and sometimes surpass the life span of drivetrain components in Internal combustion engines vehicles.

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How To Prolong The Life Of Your Electric Vehicle Battery

Just like there are preventative maintenance measures to extend the life of your gasoline vehicle, there are EV charging measures you can take to prolong your EVs battery life.

1. Avoid parking in extreme temperatures

Lithium batteries have thermal management systems that will heat or cool themselves, which in turn uses energy and drains EV battery packs. Try to park in the shade if possible on hot days and inside in extreme cold temperatures to assist battery longevity.

2. Dont Charge Your Car Too Much or Too Little

Modern electric cars are equipped with management systems that avoid charging and discharging at the maximum and minimum charging levels. You should avoid charging your vehicle above 80 percent or below 20 percent to extend EV battery life.

3. Minimize Use of Fast Charging Stations

DC fast charging stations can bring your battery level up to 80 percent in as little as 30 minutes. With this convenience comes a strain on your EV battery. For optimal battery life, you should limit how often you plug in to these fast charging stations for occasional scenarios, like road trips.

4. Maintain Optimal State of Charge While Vehicle is Stored

If you are planning on storing your vehicle for a long time, make sure that your battery does not have an empty or full charge. With a timed charger, you can set it to maintain the charging level between 25 and 75 percent.

How Long Do Electric Car Batteries Last

Many drivers are transitioning towards electric vehicles, and by 2040, EVs are expected to represent more than two-thirds of passenger vehicle sales.

Learning about EV batteries is a crucial aspect since this determines youll be able to travel and how often youll be recharging, among other factors.

In this article, we will talk about precisely that. We will reveal basic information about batteries and discuss their life expectancy, protection measures, and cost.

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What Is An Ev Battery

The vehicles most of us drive today are powered by an internal combustion engine which create energy by burning petrol or diesel.

Electric vehicles however, generate electrical energy from a pack of batteries, connected to the electrical motor. At the moment the battery packs in EVs are made from lithium-ion similar to those found in laptops and phones, but much larger and consist of hundreds of individual lithium-ion cells working together. Lithium-ion is the element of choice as its quick to charge, stores energy efficiently and can cope with thousands of charging cycles while still holding its charge.

When the accelerator is activated, the vehicle powers the motor, which gradually uses the energy stores in the batteries. When EVs are charging, the electricity makes chemical changes within the batteries. While driving, these changes are reversed to create electricity.

EV motors can also operate as generators seen most effectively when a driver applies the brakes. When acceleration is stopped, the vehicle slows down by converting the forward motion back into electricity, and while braking, it recovers the thermal energy from the brake pads and tyres heat friction, storing it within the battery for future use in-turn improving the cars range. This is known as regenerative braking.

The unit of power for electricity is Kilowatts , and kWh is a unit of energy, showing how much energy has been used. A high kWh means a high range.

Challenges Of Electric Vehicle Batteries On The Economy

At the very beginning of this decade, electric vehicle sales increased by 50% to 6,6 million vehicles. As the automotive industry is witnessing a surge in the demand, it is expected that EVs could exceed 50% of total automotive sales in markets by 2030. Concerns about global warming and peoples health have increasingly motivated the industry for battery-powered cars, trucks, and buses to generate zero tailpipe emissions.

Mining of scarce metals that are used in electric car batteries like cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel carries a harsh environmental and social cost. This refining process has a societal impact that is far from being resolved and is classified by the Basel Convention as hazardous and further can challenge sustainability.

To revamp the mobility sector, batteries need to be treated and recycled effectively. It has been calculated that impact recycled batteries will cut about 40% of the carbon content. However, there are a few challenges that the EV industry is facing.

Enhancing the EV battery value chain

Designing a business strategy for EV battery value-chain investment

Standardized process

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How Can I Care For My Cars Battery

As counter-intuitive as it might sound, keeping your electric car fully charged can actually damage its battery, because of the heat generated during recharging. Thats why some electric cars can stop charging when they reach capacity, while others such as the Tesla Model S luxury saloon allow you to charge the car to a certain percentage before stopping, helping to preserve the battery.

Overcharging can also cause chemical changes inside the battery itself, which again could negatively affect how efficiently it can store energy.

Equally, discharging an electric car battery to empty isnt a good idea. Most lithium-ion batteries perform at their best when theyre at between 50% and 80% of capacity. Charging the last 20% of a battery also takes longer than the first 80%, and thats why when youre reading about rapid charging of the kind you might do at a motorway service station, youll regularly see figures quoting how fast it takes to charge an electric car to 80% of capacity.

Another factor is temperature. Extreme cold or heat can negatively affect your cars battery and therefore the range you can travel. In a test of the Nissan Leaf in cold conditions, for example, we managed 108 miles substantially less than in warmer temperatures.

What Are Electric Car Batteries Made Of

EV batteries are made out of Lithium-Ion just like the batteries on your phone, after all, this is the highest energy density electrolyte available in mass production. There are a few variations considered among the Lithium-Ion electrolytes, the most popular compositions are Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt-Oxide and Lithium-Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum Oxide .

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How Do You Know When Your Ev Battery Is Dying

Like an old phone or laptop, an EV battery may struggle to hold charge over time.

Although simple ageing will cause an EV batterys ability to hold a charge to degrade over time, its unlikely that the battery pack will stop working altogether – like an old mobile phone or laptop, they may just struggle to hold a charge for any length of time.

What youll notice, then, is that you need to recharge more often, and those charges wont last for as long as youre used to.

While a lot of people might choose to buy themselves a new car after holding onto one for a decade or so, there are options if youve become attached to your EV.

Smart Fortwo Battery Replacement Cost

The Smart ForTwo is a popular choice for city driving. However, The cost of replacing the battery in a Smart ForTwo EV can vary depending on a few factors, but it typically ranges from $18,475 to $18,581. Meanwhile, the labor costs you around $405 to $511. Well, this range does not include any taxes or other charges.

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How Many Miles Can An Electric Car Go Before Charging

Before going on any road trip, it is essential to determine how many miles can an electric car go before charging.

In general, an EV can go up to 250 miles between charges. As mentioned above, it is not advised to let the battery run on reserve before recharging.

Before planning a road trip, consider the type of EV and its average range to determine which electric car has the shortest range or what is a good range for an electric car.

The below table contains a list of electric cars by range, including some of the longest-range EVs , ranked from short to long:

Charging Tesla with solar panels will cost far less than driving a gasoline-powered vehicle. In addition to being efficient and economic, Teslas carbon footprint is lower, too.

A Happy Ev Is A Healthy Ev

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Electric vehicles have come a long way. Automakers are offering more affordable electric cars with plenty of range, and charging stations are becoming more common across the country. But if youre new to the plug-in lifestyle, you may be wondering exactly how long an EV battery lasts. The short answer is at least 8 years or 100,000 miles, which is pretty encouraging, especially if youre looking to buy an electric car in the near future. In this article well dive deeper into the specifics of electric car batteries, battery lifespan, battery replacement costs, and how to maximize battery life in your vehicle.

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How Much Does An Electric Car Battery Cost

The aforementioned fears are understandable: the battery pack of an EV is by far the most expensive part of the vehicle and can cost $5,000 on average and even as much as $15,000 per battery in some cases.

Its important to note here that battery prices have fallen dramatically over the past decade. For example, the average price of a kilowatt-hourthe standard measure of a batterys pricedropped from $1,160 per kWh in 2010 to just $128 today.

That price is expected to fall to stabilize at $90 per kWh by 2031 universally considered the point that EVs will cost as much as gasoline cars to manufacture.

The majority of manufacturers give between five to ten years warranty on their batteries or up to 100,000 kms .

Batteries are designed not to die fully, but slowly lose charging capacity over time. This depletion happens gradually with many reporting the loss of a few percentage points over the several years. To put this into perspective, according to Plug In America, a Tesla Model Ss battery only loses five percent of its original capacity over the first 80,000 km .

However, as with many components of older vehicles, the battery will eventually begin to degrade. To measure this, when looking at the average decline across all vehicles, the loss is arguably minor, at 2.3 percent per year. This means that if you purchase an EV today with a 240 km range, youll have only lost about 27 km of accessible range after five years.

How Long Do Electric Cars Last Vs Conventional Cars

The Federal Highway Administration conducted a survey in 2017 and found that the average household car is driven 10,200 miles per year, with newer cars driven further between 11,500 and 13,500 miles annually.

The average age of a car in the U.S. is 11.8 years, with cars in the West averaging 12.4 years compared to 10.9 years in the Northeast.

Although the exact figure depends on the make and model, a gas-powered car can be expected to last for 10-15 years, or around 150,000 miles.

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Electric Car Batteries Environmental Impact

Are electric car batteries bad for the environment? Well, we’re here to tell you that the future of EV batteries looks bright.

EV batteries can be fed back into the energy cycle for factories, and homes once its life powering a car has come to an end. Repurposing EV batteries could create a closed-loop system for recycling. Meaning that the factories that produce the batteries could eventually be powered using the repurposed batteries once their lives powering vehicles comes to an end.

Large car manufacturers have already begun to repurpose EV batteries in other areas. For example, Nissan plans to use retired EV batteries to provide back-up power to the Amsterdam ArenA the world-famous entertainment venue and home to Ajax Football Club.

Toyota also plans to install retired batteries outside convenience stores in Japan in the near future. The batteries will be used to store power generated from solar panels. The energy stored will then be used to support the power of drink fridges, food warmers and fresh food counters inside stores.

With more of these opportunities arising, there will clearly be life beyond an EV. Once a battery has finished powering an electric vehicle, it can be used to power our homes and businesses.

How To Preserve Battery Longevity

There are things EV owners can do to help prevent diminished battery capacity in their cars.

Regularly depleting all or most of a batterys charge will reduce its capacity more quickly over time. Onboard battery management systems prevent an electric cars power source from becoming discharged completely to keep it working efficiently. However, some experts say it is best to avoid letting the charge routinely drop below 45%.

On the other side of the gauge, owners can help keep EV batteries healthy by not consistently charging to 100% capacity.

Electric car batteries have improved considerably in recent years. Advancements in battery technology and manufacturing will continue. These improvements may help ease the battery anxiety felt by some buyers of new EVs.

Meanwhile, those in the market for a used electric car should be mindful of battery life expectancy and pay attention to the terms of any remaining warranty coverage for the battery pack.

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Do Car Batteries Come With A Warranty

Yes. All new batteries from a reputable company will come with a manufacturers warranty. A typical warranty will last 2 years or 24,000 miles though this can vary widely. If your car is new, it should be covered under the manufacturers warranty, mileage and age restrictions will apply. To claim your replacement battery you will need to contact the manufacturer of the unit or dealership where you purchased your new vehicle.

Here’s What The Industry Says

Story by

Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

Ioanna is a writer at SHIFT. She likes the transition from old to modern, and she’s all about shifting perspectives. Ioanna is a writer at SHIFT. She likes the transition from old to modern, and she’s all about shifting perspectives.

If youre a EV driver, Im sure this question has crossed your mind: how long will my cars battery last before it becomes unusable?

Indeed, thats a valid question. Battery degradation is bound to happen at some point. As a lithium-ion battery is charged and discharged, it degrades over time.

Think of your old laptop for instance. Its gone through so many charging cycles that the batterys busted and the only way it works is if its constantly plugged into a socket. Depending on the machine, this usually happens after two to four years.

So when it comes to your electric vehicle, what can you expect? Is there an average lifecycle?

Lets take a look and see how much we should care.

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