Modern electric vehicle batteries are continuing to perform well after hundreds of thousands of miles, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The report cited the owner of a UK-based used-car company specialising in EVs, who said one electric car had covered 247,000 miles while its battery continued to perform reliably.
The average EV retains around 95% of its original driving range after five years, according to battery data company Recurrent.
The result is better than many automotive industry experts initially expected. Recurrent based the finding on data collected from around one billion miles of EV driving.
However, concerns about replacement costs continue to discourage buyers. A 2025 AutoPacific survey found that fear of paying for a new battery was the leading reason potential buyers avoided EVs.
Those concerns were more justified with early electric cars. Around one in every 12 EVs manufactured between 2011 and 2016 has required a battery replacement.
Newer vehicles have performed considerably better. Only 0.3% of EVs manufactured from 2022 onwards have needed replacement batteries, according to a 2025 Recurrent study.
Early models such as the original Nissan Leaf suffered faster battery deterioration because they lacked the battery-cooling technology used in newer vehicles. However, Recurrent Chief Executive Scott Case said public perception has not yet caught up with improvements in battery reliability.
The latest battery-powered vehicles now have lifespans comparable to cars with internal combustion engines, even when EVs cover more miles, according to Viet Nguyen-Tien, a research officer at the London School of Economics.
Research involving more than 300 million vehicle test records in Great Britain found that technological improvements have allowed newer electric cars to reach lifespans comparable to petrol and diesel vehicles despite heavier use.
Improvements in battery chemistry, battery-management systems and temperature control have helped batteries last longer while reducing costs.
Lithium-ion battery pack prices have fallen 93% since 2010, according to BloombergNEF. Average prices declined to $108 per kilowatt-hour in 2025.
Replacing an EV battery outside its warranty can still cost between $5,000 and $16,000, depending on the manufacturer.
However, several manufacturers now design battery packs so that technicians can repair or replace smaller components. This allows some owners to avoid paying for a complete battery replacement.
EV batteries still face several challenges. Frequent use of high-power fast chargers can cause batteries to lose capacity twice as quickly as those mainly charged at lower power.
Geotab found that EVs frequently using DC fast chargers above 100 kW recorded annual degradation of up to 3%, compared with 1.5% for vehicles mainly using lower-power charging.
Frequently charging an EV to 100% or leaving its battery at 0% for long periods can also reduce its long-term capacity. Extreme heat and cold can temporarily reduce the driving range available from a charge.
EVs are expected to account for 11% of new vehicle sales in the United States by 2030, nearly twice their current share, according to consulting firm AlixPartners.
Globally, EVs currently represent around 15% of new car sales. AlixPartners expects their share to rise to nearly one-quarter of the global market by the end of the decade.
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