What happens to all of these vehicles when the battery’s performance decreases? Would you even want to think about it if 1.5 million battery-electric cars were sold by 2023? That’s like the entire population of Barcelona. What happens to all of them? When should car owners start thinking about this?
Typically, the manufacturer guarantees a free battery replacement within up to ten years after the purchase. The magic warranty limit for electric cars is already reaching its first generation. For instance, the first electric vehicle produced by KIA was only manufactured in 2013, but KIA only offers a 7-year battery warranty.
The article is about the lifespan and replacement of an electric car battery based on the information we obtained during our research on the topic “How long do electric car batteries last?”.
What is the Lifespan of an Electric Car Battery?
We’ll start with examples instead of talking about them. ADAC found that after five years and 100,000 kilometers, the battery retained 86 percent of its power capacity after being used for five years. Taking this into consideration, they predicted the battery would eventually degrade to 70 percent capacity after 10,000 years or 200,000 kilometers. That’s not bad!
As a buyer of an electric vehicle, you get a standard warranty for your car and a warranty specifically for the battery, which can be very creative from battery manufacturers. However, reading into the details is always a good idea.
Most battery manufacturers offer a warranty guaranteeing that the battery will retain a minimum level of usable capacity for as long as possible. Most battery warranties stipulate that the battery must retain at least 70-80% of its original capacity after a certain period of time, typically 8-10 years or 150,000-200,000 kilometers.
The owner can file a warranty claim if the battery capacity drops below this threshold within the warranty period, which usually lasts between 6-7 years. The manufacturer will cover the cost of repairing the battery by replacing individual modules or replacing the battery altogether if they approve the claim.
You might be wondering, “How long do electric car batteries last?” We’ve got answers.
It has been reported that batteries for electric cars typically last between 8 and 15 years, but it has also been reported that batteries could last up to 20 years.
A high-voltage car battery warranty does not cover problems caused by improper handling, care, or maintenance. It is especially important to charge the battery correctly. The devil is in the details, after all.
The warranty can be jeopardized by the following:
- Discharge of the battery to 0% (deep discharge)
- There has been no timely maintenance as recommended by the manufacturer for the car
- Repairs that are not done correctly
How Long Do Electric Car Batteries From Different Manufacturers Last?
We took a look at some of the most prominent examples of electric cars and compared their batteries’ lifespans. Congratulations! Now is the fun part! It appears electric car manufacturers have very different ideas about how long their batteries last.
Tesla battery life
Normally, we would leave this part to the end and use it as a plot twist. However, for our blog posts, we prefer to start with the good stuff first.
The immodest estimate that Tesla’s batteries will outlast the vehicle sets it apart from other EV manufacturers. Assuming that the vehicle is scrapped after approximately 320.000 kilometers in the U.S. and approximately 250.000 kilometers in Europe, the manufacturer assumes it is scrapped after approximately 320.000 kilometers.
What about the battery?
After around 320,000 km, Tesla batteries degrade by just 12% (Tesla Impact Report 2022), according to the company that has sold electric vehicles for over a decade.
As you might expect, we decided to verify this and asked the CEO of go-e, Susanne Palli, who has driven her Tesla Model 3 for three years and has observed a decrease in range of around 30 km in the last 2.5 years. She has driven 122.000 km so far.
According to the numbers, her car has a range of 300 kilometers in winter and 450 kilometers in summer. There seems to be less battery degradation than Tesla predicted. However, the speed of battery degradation is affected by a variety of factors, including driving behavior.
Tesla battery warranty
- A Tesla Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive and a Tesla Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive will last at least eight years and 160,000 km under warranty, with a minimum of 70% remaining battery capacity.
- In the case of the Tesla Model 3 Performance, the Tesla Model Y Long Range and the Tesla Model Y Performance, a battery capacity of 70% should be preserved over the warranty period which is 8 years / 192,000 kilometers.
Source: Tesla
There is a disparity between the company’s actual coverage of battery replacements and its predictions regarding Tesla batteries’ degradation rate.
Audi battery life
You might be surprised at Audi’s battery lifespan predictions. Take a look.
| State of health up to 3 years or 60,000 km | State of health up to 5 years or 100,000 km | State of health up to 8 years or 160,000 km | |
| Audi e-tron 50/55/S | 78% | 74% | 70% |
| Audi e-tron GT | 80% | – | 70% |
| Audi RS e-tron GT | 80% | – | 70% |
| Audi Q4 e-tron/SB e-tron | In clarification | In clarification | In clarification |
Source: Audi Berlin GmbH
Audi battery warranty
It will last 8 years or 160,000 kilometers, whichever comes first.
Hyundai battery life
It goes through various stages in its life, including the first stage which lasts 8-10 years before it starts to decay. As opposed to Tesla’s fantastic promises, Hyundai has its own way of explaining the longevity of its car batteries.
Hyundai battery warranty
The vehicle must be driven for 8 years or 160,000 kilometers, whichever occurs first.
A Hyundai IONIQ 5 is the car that go-e’s head of marketing, Ronald Kroke, has owned for one and a half years, and he is likely to reach the 160,000 km mark first, since he drives about 30,000 km every year. He finds Hyundai’s warranty to be fully adequate, since he knows that the battery will still provide enough capacity for his needs after 8 years or the guaranteed kilometers have passed.
However, what happens once this period is over? The battery continues to work, though it isn’t as good as before. Actually, if one’s needs are met, the battery can still be used for a very long time. In case your Hyundai car is no longer able to handle its power, you can use it for other purposes, like storing energy or performing less important tasks—we’ll talk about that later.
It is suggested that batteries can be recycled after about 20 years. using of used ev batteries could be a good option for ev owners. The company does not disclose the cost of battery replacement, but mentions that battery size is directly related to the cost.
How Do You Extend Your Electric Car Battery Life?
In spite of the low cost of the battery replacement, it is still better to take care of your current battery to avoid all that waiting and spending money you’ve been saving. Here is what we recommend for keeping your EV battery going for as long as possible.
1. Don’t exaggerate with fast charging.
Whenever possible, use an AC charger like the gemini or flex of our go-e Charger. It’s not a problem to charge at high speeds with a DC charger every now and then, but charging with direct current frequently causes excessive heat and amplifies ripple effects, resulting in a shorter lifespan for the battery.
2. Do you really need 100% today?
For emergencies, charging your car to 100% isn’t necessary. Instead, charge it to about 60-80% and leave it somewhere until you need it again. Thanks to the go-e Charger, you can set the desired state of charge (for example, to 80%).
3. Your car is still hungry, even when you are not driving it.
It is recommended that your battery should remain between 30% and 80% charged if you are not using your car for more than 12 hours. Normally, your car battery loses 1-2% of its charge per day and if you have not used it for more than 12 hours, you should keep the battery charged between 30% and 80%.
4. Protect your vehicle from extreme temperatures.
Did you ever experience a sudden loss of power or even the death of your phone battery when exposed to low temperatures? The car battery also doesn’t like extremes in temperature. If you park it in a garage, you should use it if you have the option of not being exposed to direct sunlight all day. It won’t suddenly lose a few kilometers of range after being exposed to direct sunlight all day.
5. Ensure your car receives timely servicing
If you take good care of your battery, the manufacturer will replace it free of charge. Plus, automobile repairs can be expensive. But spotting battery problems early during servicing can save you a lot of money.
How Much Does It Cost to Replace the Battery of an Electric Car?
If you want to know how far your electric car can travel on one battery charge or how long it takes to charge, the situation gets tricky in e-mobility. If you think it’s going to be easier with prices, you just need to look at what manufacturers are offering. There is one problem, though: most producers of EVs prefer to keep the details a secret.
What about those who play their cards face up?
- The cost of replacing a battery with one of Audi dealers is between $5,000 and $15,000 per battery.
- Besides offering the same numbers, BMW also adds that battery prices are going down over time.
In response to a curiosity question, we asked our YouTube subscribers whether they expected a new electric car battery to cost between $4000 and $14,000. More than 90% of respondents predicted the price would fall between $4000 and $14,000.
If a battery has an 80% capacity, does it make sense to replace it with a battery that costs over EUR 10,000? Based on a survey we conducted, 40% scoffed at the idea, 20% thought it was reasonable, and 40% abstained. 100 people voted.
Can Electric Car Batteries be Recycled?
Our research has uncovered ways to recycle the old batteries so we can share our findings with you. Ultimately, no matter how well you treat your battery, you will need to decide whether or not to replace it or get a new car.
Recycling electric car batteries is primarily a matter of recovering cobalt and nickel, followed by copper.
The following are the three main methods of recycling EV batteries at the moment:
- Method #1: Hydrometallurgical recycling
- Method #2: Mechanical recycling
- Method #3: Pyrometallurgical recycling
Hydrometallurgical recycling
Pros:
- A minimal investment is required to make this product economical.
- Low-temperature and low-energy operation.
- Ensures high recovery rates.
- Any chemistry and configuration of battery can be used.
- The recovery of specific metals can be achieved through flexible separation processes.
- Provides high-purity substrate foils, including directly recovered foil.
- This process can produce cathode precursors as an output.
- Comparable to pyrometallurgy in terms of energy efficiency.
- No air emissions are produced.
Cons:
- A high recovery rate and profit can be achieved by optimizing the recycling process for certain battery chemicals.
- Size reduction is required.
- Cathode structures are broken down by acid.
- LFP batteries do not produce any valuable products.
- To separate nickel and cobalt, solvent extraction is required.
- Treatment, recycling, or disposal of a large volume of process effluents.
Mechanical recycling
Pros:
- From a battery, 90% nickel and cobalt can be recovered, while 50% lithium can be recovered.
- Maintains the cathode structure, which is valuable.
- Obtains anodes, electrolytes, and foils.
- It is compatible with LFP batteries.
- Recyclable on a small scale.
- Energy-efficient and operates at low temperatures.
- Ensures minimal impact on virgin material production.
Cons:
- It requires mechanical pretreatment and separation.
- Material that has been recovered may not perform as well as material that has been virgin.
- The value of recycled products could be reduced by mixing cathode materials.
- Input must be single-cathode.
- Formulations that are obsolete may be recovered.
- It is possible that degradation will limit reusability.
- The quality of the product must be assured to the buyer.
- At scale, this has not been demonstrated.
Pyrometallurgical recycling
Pros:
- The battery can be connected to any type of battery, with any chemical, and with any configuration.
- The batteries for consumer electronics do not need to be sorted or reduced in size.
- Achieves efficient metal recovery.
- Copper, nickel, and cobalt are all easily recovered and yield higher profits.
- During metal production, no SOx is released.
- The economic feasibility of the project.
Cons:
- It is necessary to clean up gas emissions in order to prevent toxic air pollution.
- The process of treating gas consumes a lot of energy and is expensive.
- Slag is made up of lithium and aluminum.
- For elemental metals to be separated from alloys, additional refining is required.
- The investment is significant and the volume is high.
- Batteries with LFP are not suitable for use.
It seems like a great idea to improve the environment, right? So why don’t car makers rush to provide simple battery replacements so that they can recycle the batteries and manufacture new ones? Well, it all boils down to money. Recycling batteries is costly. Batteries must be collected, processed, and recycled by manufacturers, plus labor and maintenance costs.
The good news is that governments sometimes help cover these costs. For instance, the Department of Energy (DOE) is offering $37 million in funding to reduce the cost of recycling electric vehicle batteries. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has set up a $200 million initiative to help recycle batteries and use them in electric vehicles for second-life applications. This funding represents the second phase of the initiative.
The second life of car batteries
Car batteries can still function pretty well after 8 to 10 years of use in a car. In fact, they have about 70 to 80 percent of their original power left. Although they may not be suitable for cars anymore, they can be used for other uses. That’s what we mean by “second life.” Typically, these batteries are good for about 10 to 12 years after they have been used in a car for 8 to 10 years. Hence, you only need to dispose of them after over 20 years. It is possible to use old car batteries as home energy storage systems, such as the PV panels on your roof.
A go-e marketing executive, Ronald Kroke, discussed his thoughts on battery recycling with us. He believes that such an initiative adds to the overall sustainability of the company’s other areas of business. A second life of batteries must be mentioned by manufacturers so that more people are aware of the benefits of operating a battery-powered vehicle.
Benefits:
- CO2 emissions are reduced.
- Low-cost stationary energy storage can be obtained by the end user.
Drawbacks:
- In vehicles that have been used for 10 to 15 years, batteries frequently need to be replaced after they have been reused.
- Fire risk is higher in these areas.
As electric cars develop, old batteries haven’t been a big deal yet. However, in about a decade to a decade and a half, we’ll see recycled batteries available for sale as more electric cars are introduced to the market.
The issue is complex because many drivers continue to use their vehicle’s battery even after it reaches a 70% performance level, and they only stop using it once it has completely died. You can, for example, travel 300 kilometers on your car battery if it was charged for the first time. Because the battery has shrunk to 70% of its original capacity, you can only drive 210 kilometers with it. Since replacing it is expensive, you choose to keep it and let it continue to degrade.
This battery cannot be used in other applications and must be recycled after 10% or 15% of the battery’s life. So, very few of these old batteries are reused. (Fraunhofer ISI, Batteries for electric cars: fact check and need for action, 2020).
Conclusion
Does it make sense to replace the battery in an electric car? Ronald Kroke, our head of marketing, has his fingers crossed that 80%, or perhaps even more, of the Hyundai IONIQ 5’s battery capacity will remain after the warranty expires. He would not consider replacing the battery in that case, since it is the most expensive component of the car.
