How long does an electric vehicles battery actually last? Primecom

Even as the popularity of electric vehicles continues to grow, one question remains: How long do their batteries last? Potential owners and those who drive electric cars often wonder about their lifespan. The reason? The power source of an electric car is a really expensive component to replace and also difficult to amortize if you don't do too many kilometers with one.

As the automotive industry builds more battery packs, lifetime battery management is a major hurdle. For now, conservative estimates for the longevity of a new electric car battery are at a minimum of 150,000 to 200,000 kilometers. Proper care can help prolong its life, and in fact we know of some examples with hundreds of thousands of kilometers using the original battery. But if you are looking for and/or want additional information about electric car batteries and their life expectancy, read on.

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Basics of an electric car battery

Lithium-ion batteries power pure electric cars. This type of rechargeable battery cell is ideal for them due to its higher energy density than lead-acid or nickel-cadmium batteries. A higher energy density means that the power supply takes up less space. Your mobile phone and other electronic devices make use of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. In a car, it is also responsible for offering support to the rest of the electrical components.

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But keep in mind that an electric car battery is not just a big battery. Multiple modules make up a package, and each of those modules can contain hundreds of individual cells. The capacity of an electric car battery is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). In general, a higher kilowatt-hour rating for a zero-emissions car indicates that you can travel further, such as an internal combustion vehicle with a larger gas or diesel tank.

Battery cycles for electric vehicles

The batteries connect to the vehicle's engine, which turns the wheels. When the engine accelerates, power is sent to the motor and the energy stored in the battery is consumed. Those of electric vehicles are charged when plugged in and discharged when in use. Repeating this cycle of charging and discharging degrades the battery over time because it decreases the amount of charge the battery can hold. Consequently, the time required to recharge the battery increases.

The most important thing here is that the charging cycles affect the life of an electric car battery, although that does not mean that there are other factors that can affect its duration. Lithium-ion batteries and heat don't mix, which is why most electric cars have liquid-cooled packs. Still, in warmer regions, they will degrade faster. Something similar happens when temperatures are extremely cold, which is why, in some areas of the planet, electric cars suffer more.

And while they offer the convenience of speed, regular use of Level 3 fast charging stations can shorten the expected lifespan. These high-voltage, direct-current stations can recharge an electric vehicle's battery up to 80% in about 30 minutes. Even so, the process generates heat in the battery and therefore affects its long-term performance. Like everything in life, excesses are never good, and in the case of batteries it is the same. The optimum is to always keep them between 20 and 80% of their capacity.

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How long do electric car batteries last?

Through various surveys around the globe, it has been concluded that the battery of an electric car must last at least eight years or 150,000 kilometers, which amounts to about 3,000 charge cycles. Some brands even offer even more protection, like the Hyundai Kona Electric Lifetime Battery Warranty. In any case, it is estimated that, after that time, the battery will reduce its capacity to 75%, so, technically, it would still have a lot of life ahead of it despite reducing its performance.

To protect the purchase of an electric car, we recommend that you carefully read all the details of the guarantee. Some manufacturers will only cover the pack in cases of total failure. Others will offer a replacement set if the unit drops to a certain percentage of its peak capacity. In any case, it is unusual for a person to extend the life of their vehicle beyond 15 years, so most interested parties can live peacefully; the battery will not suddenly abandon you (unless you never recharge it, of course).

How can I make the battery last longer?

There are a few things electric car owners can do to help prevent battery capacity decline. Regular depletion of all or most of the charge will reduce its capacity more rapidly over time. On-board management systems prevent a car's power source from going completely dead to keep it running efficiently. However, some experts state that it is best to avoid routinely dropping the load below 45%.

On the other side of the gauge, owners can help keep their mounts' batteries healthy by not always recharging to 100% capacity. Batteries have improved considerably in recent years. Advances in battery technology and manufacturing will continue, and these improvements may help ease anxiety about battery durability felt by some novice customers. Meanwhile, those in the used market have to take into account the battery life expectancy and pay attention to the warranty.

How much does it cost to change the battery of an electric car?

We do not want to alarm you, but it is not little. As we have mentioned throughout this advice, the battery of an electric car is a heart, and without it it cannot function. As such, an equivalence could be made to an internal combustion engine, being the most expensive component to replace. We are talking about a disbursement that can exceed 5,000 euros, depending on the vehicle in question. Logically, the larger the size of the battery and the more premium the manufacturer on duty, the greater the amount to drop for a new game.

Because the battery, no matter how careful it is, has a useful life that will end and will have to be replaced. Fortunately, in many cases it will only be necessary to change one or several cells of this and not the entire calculation; in this case, the cost is much lower than that of a complete replacement (although the four digits of the invoice, probably no one will take them away from you). And finally, a curious fact: according to Consumer Reports, the average life of a battery exceeds 320,000 kilometers. Therefore, with 20,000 kilometers per year, you can use it for 16 years.