Although it does not provide many details about the methodology applied, nor a series of essential data to properly assess the results obtained and announced, a study has recently been revealed that is generating a lot of buzz, particularly among those most interested in the world of fully electric cars. This is because its object of analysis was batteries, more specifically their longevity.
Specifically, the used car platform (for direct sale or through auction) Kvdbil tested the state of the battery (or its “degradation”) of 723 fully electric vehicles and 643 powered by plug-in hybrid engines, concluding that, in about 80% of cases, the “high voltage” battery still retained 90% or more of its capacity after several years of use (though not specifying how many, which is certainly not an insignificant factor for analysis…). According to Martin Reinholdsson, testing manager at the Swedish company, “we had seen indications of this before, but we were a bit surprised that so many were still in such good condition”, also emphasizing that, “the degradation of a car battery occurs slowly, thanks to advanced technology and intelligent design, including the cooling of the cells. This result also refutes the myth that batteries of used cars do not last long.”
Another very interesting piece of data is the fully electric models whose batteries maintained a capacity closer to the original after some time of use: at the top of the table is Kia, with the EV6 in the first position, ahead of the e-Niro, followed by Tesla Model Y, Opel Mokka, Mazda MX-30, Audi Q4 e-tron, Fiat 500e, Volvo XC40 Recharge, Citroën ë-C4, and VW ID.4. Among the plug-in hybrids, Kia again dominated, with the Sportage and the Optima, in this order, ahead of Volvo XC60, Kia Ceed, Volvo V60, Peugeot 3008, BMW 530e, VW Passat GTE, BMW X1, and BMW 330e. Two rankings that will surely please those included, although, not being clarified, it remains to be seen whether other models are absent due to not achieving such commendable results, or simply because they were not part of the sampling.
