A new study carried out by Recurrent examined how long EV batteries are lasting in vehicles and how often they are replaced, Jalopnik reports.
Recurrent gathered data from 15,000 vehicles and found that battery replacements in EVs weren’t as common as some may assume: outside of factory recalls, only 1.5% of EVs in the study reported undergoing battery replacements. Most that did occur were covered under warranty.
Unsurprisingly, the vehicles that had the most battery replacements were some of the oldest models on the market: the 2013-2015 Tesla Model S and 2011-2012 Nissan Leafs.
Replacements for the Nissan Leaf early on were covered by the manufacturer after it was discovered “their original battery chemistry lost charge quickly in hot environments,” according to Recurrent. Since then, they have reportedly switched to a “more hearty battery” that has performed better.
“Almost all of the batteries we’ve ever made are still in cars, and we’ve been selling electric cars for 12 years,” Nic Thomas, Nissan’s marketing director for the UK, had told reporters with Forbes.
Additionally, the study reported mostly consistent range figures, with “an initial drop in range during the break-in period” as Jalopnik notes, but it did not sustain.
