Extend your EV battery's lifespan with two simple steps



Here's a question for anyone thinking of buying an EV: How long will the battery last?

Short answer: longer than most EV buyers will own their vehicles.

While battery degradation is inevitable, there are two important steps you can take to slow it down.

Anyone who's kept a cell phone or laptop long enough knows that even the trustiest rechargeable battery gives up the ghost eventually. Over time, battery cells lose the ability to hold as much charge as when they were brand-new.

Battery life

So exactly how long do electric car batteries last, and what steps can you take to slow the degradation?

Much like those in a phone or laptop, electric car batteries are lithium-ion and made of a variety of rare-earth minerals like cobalt, nickel, cadmium, and manganese plus other materials. Every battery, regardless of what vehicle it's in, will experience degradation over time.

Even your location's weather can affect the longevity of a battery. Extremely hot and extremely cold environments, as well as those with excess humidity, can shorten a battery's lifespan.

Lithium-ion batteries have a high-energy density compared to the lead-acid batteries or nickel-metal hydride batteries found in hybrids. They also charge up quickly and are able to retain their energy density over hundreds of charging cycles. That's why they're the ideal choice for electric vehicles right now. The introduction of solid-state batteries may change that soon, but for now, lithium-ion is the best option for EVs.

But every charge and discharge cycle fractionally reduces a battery's overall capacity. Over the course of hundreds or even thousands of charging cycles, a vehicle's range eventually takes a hit.

Range decline

A 2019 analysis sampled data from 6,300 electric cars and found the average rate of range decline for a battery is about 2.3% per year.

In real-world terms, that means that if you have an EV with 300 miles of range, as so many do now, in five years, you can expect to have a maximum range of 267 miles due to battery degradation. Of course, it takes forever to get a 100% charge, so most people charge to 80% to get back on the road.

Every manufacturer has different projections for how long its batteries will last, but the U.S. Department of Energy has made its own predictions.

According to the DOE, "Predictive modeling by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory indicates that today’s batteries may last 12 to 15 years in moderate climates," while those who live in "extreme climates" can expect those numbers to be in the eight- to 12-year range.

As we don't have as much real-world data yet, this is largely speculative. The average vehicle on American roads right now is more than 12 years old.

What about your car's EV battery warranty?

The federal government mandates that EV manufacturers offer at least an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on all EV batteries. California ups that to a mandatory 10-year/150,000-mile warranty. Assuming the warranty is transferable, this could be a future concern for the fourth or fifth owner with 100,000 miles on a used vehicle.

What you can do

While battery degradation is inevitable, there are two important steps you can take to slow it down:

1. Avoid heavy acceleration and abrupt braking

Asking your battery to discharge energy rapidly over and over again essentially overworks it and causes it to degrade faster — it's a lot like constantly leaving your phone screen on.

2. Maintain a charge between 20% and 80%

Charge your battery when it reaches 20% and charge it to 80%. Most cars allow you to set the specific parameters and can cut off charging at a certain value. This approach puts far less strain on the battery's internal chemistry.

Major automakers plan to 'leverage public and private funds' to install electric vehicle charging network around North America



Seven car manufacturing giants are planning a joint effort to bolster electric vehicle charging infrastructure by installing a network of charging locations around North America.

BMW Group, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz Group, and Stellantis NV are the companies involved in the plan. A press release notes that the effort will "leverage public and private funds."

"The joint venture will include the development of a new, high-powered charging network with at least 30,000 chargers to make zero-emission driving even more attractive for millions of customers," the press release states. "With the generational investments in public charging being implemented on the Federal and State level, the joint venture will leverage public and private funds to accelerate the installation of high-powered charging for customers."

The plan is for the charging network to run off of renewable energy. It is anticipated that the first charging locations will open next summer.

"The first stations are expected to open in the United States in the summer of 2024 and in Canada at a later stage," the press release notes. "In line with the sustainability strategies of all seven automakers, the joint venture intends to power the charging network solely by renewable energy."

While traditional cars can quickly fill up at gas stations, electric vehicle charging is a much slower process. For instance, while filling up a typical sedan's gas tank may take just a couple of minutes, Tesla, a popular electric vehicle manufacturer, says that Superchargers can provide up to 200 miles of range in 15 minutes.

"The fight against climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. What we need now is speed – across political, social and corporate boundaries," Mercedes-Benz Group CEO Ola Källenius, said, according to the press release. "To accelerate the shift to electric vehicles, we're in favor of anything that makes life easier for our customers. Charging is an inseparable part of the EV-experience, and this network will be another step to make it as convenient as possible."

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Left-wing lawmakers say the absence of a common standard for electronics chargers causes 'economic and environmental harm' — and they want the government to step in



In a letter last month to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, three left-wing lawmakers took issue with the lack of uniformity among the chargers used to power electronic gadgets, and urged the U.S. government to tackle the issue.

"We write regarding the economic and environmental harm inflicted by the consumer electronics industry’s failure to establish uniform charging accessory standards — a shortcoming that requires consumers to frequently change their charging accessories. This planned obsolescence is expensive and frustrating for consumers, and drives the proliferation of electronic waste (ewaste)," Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in the letter.

The European Union plans to mandate USB Type-C as the required charging port for various electronic devices. The liberal senators wrote, "we urge you to follow the EU’s lead by developing a comprehensive strategy to address unnecessary consumer costs, mitigate e-waste, and restore sanity and certainty to the process of purchasing new electronics."

"We urge you to coordinate with offices and agencies across the Department of Commerce to develop a comprehensive plan that will protect both consumers and the environment by addressing the lack of a common U.S. charging standard," they wrote.

The legislators' letter focusing on the topic of chargers came even as Americans continued to face pressing economic burdens amid soaring inflation and high gas prices.

Warren tweeted on Thursday, "Consumers shouldn’t have to keep buying new chargers all the time for different devices. We can clear things up with uniform standards—for less expense, less hassle, and less waste."

While many people supported the idea, others were not on board with the prospect of such government meddling.

"Government-standardized technology to spare us from innovation? Elizabeth Warren has apparently discovered the fountain of bad ideas," Reason contributing editor J.D. Tuccille tweeted.

"No one should ever trust the government for advice on reducing waste," conservative radio host Dana Loesch tweeted.

"It's in the Constitution: The Congress shall have Power to establish a uniform Rule on the subject of mobile device Chargers," former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash sarcastically tweeted. "This will not improve everybody’s life; it will stifle innovation and harm consumers. In any case, constitutionality isn’t based on whether someone—or even everyone—likes the law," he noted in another tweet.

\u201cIt\u2019s in the Constitution:\n\nThe Congress shall have Power to establish a uniform Rule on the subject of mobile device Chargers.\u201d
— Justin Amash (@Justin Amash) 1657222113