As you know EV car runs on battery, so battery life matters a lot. This decides how far you can take your EV car on a single full charge and how many years it can perform without investing in a new battery pack. So once you know these things, you can easily get an idea about the EV car battery life.
A research has shown that li-ion EV batteries last long for 15 to 20 years and it also clears that the EV car batteries degrade by 2-3% per year. Hence after some years (approx 8 years), you can still get a decent amount of backup from the batteries. Most manufacturers provide an 8-year warranty; so we can expect that the battery will retain around 75-80% of its capacity beyond the warranty period. This demonstrates that EV batteries can still perform well beyond the warranty time frame.
EV car battery degradation chart
Below we have created an EV car battery degradation chart having battery capacity of 24kWh. In its first year, battery is 100% functional and after 8 years ~80% of battery is functional (20% of battery dead or degraded). It means now after 8 years, though you EV car has 24 kWh battery capacity but it would effectively act like a 19 kWh battery.
In practical terms you can think of the Tiago EV Long Range Car which comes with a 24 kWh battery capacity and offers a range of 315 km. So after 8 years, the Tiago EV car battery will degrade and now it will act as a 19 kWh battery. The same amount of battery capacity Tata offers in the Tiago EV MR model. Hence, after 8 years your Tiago EV LR will convert into a Tiago EV MR and you will get a range of 250 km on 1 full charge.
These studies prove that only 1/5 of your car battery will degrade after 8 years and you will still get good range from the remaining 4/5 batteries.
Apart from that, the battery life of electric car depends on other factors like:
- How you are dealing with EV car?
- Are you following the recommended guidelines to charge vehicle?
- Are you using the original charger?
- In what condition you are driving? slow driving, rough driving etc.
- Extreme cold or hot locations might effect the EV car batteries life.
- After market work or usage of third party products might reduce battery life.
EV Car Battery Life in India
In general, EV batteries in India last about 8 years before needing replacement. This is a general scenario and that’s why car manufacturers in India offer an 8 year or 160,000 kilometer warranty on EV cars. This warranty tag gives a peace of mind to owners that they don’t need to worry about car batteries and in case of any issue it will be replaced for free.
The time period of 8 years has been decided keeping in mind the weather conditions of India. Several tests were conducted and it was decided that 8 years is a reasonable period and nothing major is going to happen to the EV car battery.
The key point is that reaching the 8-year mark does not necessarily mean the battery is unusable or requires replacement. If the battery remains in good condition, it can continue to be used beyond 8 years without issue. However, if individual battery cells become damaged from use or defects, then only those specific cells need replacement rather than the entire pack. Since the pack contains many lithium-ion cells, replacing a few bad cells is far more cost effective than a whole new battery.
Apart from that, I would like to share a good news that you can easily get 15-20% discount on new battery packs. Think about inverter batteries? When you trade in an old battery and buy a new one, you can get about 15-20% off on a brand new battery and about 10% off on a local battery.
Final Words
I have done a short analysis on Ev car battery cost. Here’s how much it will cost if you opt to change the battery pack of EV car after 8 years in 2024:
- Car Type: Entry Level Hatchback
- Battery Capacity: 24 kWh
- 1 kWh Battery Capacity Cost: Rs. 15,000
- Total Battery Cost: 24 x 15000 = Rs. 3,60,000
But guys wait, you are not going to pay this as you will get 15-20% off new battery pack. Hence if we you pay only 4/5th of total battery cost then final price would be…
- Real Battery Cost having 24 kWh: Rs 3,60,000
- Trade-in Discount: 20%
- Final Battery Cost having 24 kWh: Rs 2,88000
In the coming 5 to 10 years, the price of Li-ion batteries will fall by 30% . So in the near future, the complete battery pack of an EV car of 24 kWh capacity will be replaced at just Rs. 2,50,000 (please remember the inflation rate will also increase)!
Finally, real-world testing shows that EV batteries typically last around 8 years or 160,000 km before needing major service or replacement, assuming normal usage and absence of defects. The modular battery pack design also allows for replacing only damaged cells to extend overall life. So EV buyers can feel confident that their batteries will last for the better part of a decade under normal driving conditions before major battery servicing is needed.
What’s your though on this? Share your feedback in the comments and keep visiting https://evcitycars.in for more updates!
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