Health assessment of used EV batteries introduced: will this convince people to buy second-hand electric cars?

According to the Green Finance Institute (GFI), “fear of poor battery health is the biggest barrier keeping the used electric car market from taking off.”

But this could soon be a thing of the past as a battery health rating system has been introduced to the UK used EV market for the first time.

Used car retailer BCA has launched its own EV Battery Health Grading service so drivers can buy electric vehicles with more confidence. But is it enough to convince you to go green?

BCA’s Battery Health rating gives buyers an at-a-glance view of the health of an EV’s traction battery, with an easy-to-interpret scoring system.

The letters A through E are accompanied by the numbered score of an AVILOO battery ‘FLASH Test’.

When a customer purchases a BCA pre-owned EV, the battery status is displayed in a quick reference format on the vehicle detail page, in vehicle search results and on the Live Bidding screens in BCA auction houses.

Buyers will also have access to the full FLASH test report after the sale, which will be guided through the further sales process, including to local used car dealers. This will help sellers and buyers have greater confidence in a transparent marketplace, and allow dealers to discuss and hopefully address their battery health concerns with customers.

BCA COO Stuart Pearson said: ‘The new BCA battery health rating will help our buyer customers bid on electric vehicles with complete confidence and make more informed purchasing decisions.

“The service provides absolute transparency with unbiased testing and assessment, delivering a reusable report that will further advance the retail process.”

The Battery Health service is currently live at BCA auctions and should start filtering through the used car network soon.

How the AVILOO battery test works

AVILOO – BCA’s battery health partner – offers an unbiased, independent test, performed by connecting the test box to the EV’s On-Board Diagnostics interface.

The comprehensive report shows the remaining battery capacity from 0 to 100 and displays ‘red flags’ in case of faulty battery modules.

The A to E rating system is similar to vehicle condition ratings, making it easy and quick for buyers to understand.

Marcus Berger, CEO of test provider AVILOO GmbH, commented: ‘The AVILOO battery health test covers 95 percent of all available EV brands, meaning it is a great fit with BCA’s extensive online remarketing programs in the UK and Europe.

‘Encouraging greater trust, together with a transparent process, remains key to the continued development of the EV landscape in use.’

Why is the health of used EV batteries such a big barrier to adoption?

In June 2023, GFI found that 62 percent of consumers would not buy a used electric car due to concerns about battery life.

A year later, research from Starline Used Car Tracker found that 87 percent of potential used electric car buyers emphasized the importance of obtaining an independent, certified assessment detailing the condition of the vehicle’s battery as assessed by previous owners. maintained.

The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee Report 2024 EV strategy: fast charging needed stated that ‘consumer confidence in the second-hand market is currently being undermined by uncertainty and concerns about the health of EV batteries.’

Paul Burgess, CEO of Startline Motor Finance, said: ‘Probably the biggest fear consumers have when buying an electric used car is that the battery will fail or otherwise fail very quickly.

‘They know it can cost several thousand euros to buy a replacement car and that the value of their car will plummet.’

Despite these concerns being ‘largely unfounded’ as ‘battery degradation is generally much slower than expected, while outright battery failure, while not unknown, remains a rare event’, Burgess understands that ‘used car buyers clearly want reassurance’ in the form of formal testing.

It is likely that EV battery health testing will become commonplace in the used EV market in the future, as this was one of the key EV commitments in the Labor manifesto.

Labor has set out its intentions to standardize the information provided on the condition of EV batteries to support buyers of second-hand electric vehicles.

And Labor said it would introduce the ‘Electric Vehicle Confident labeling requirement’ on new electric cars, similar to the Monroney sticker used in the US.

New health passport for EV batteries: which manufacturers are already introducing them?

From 2027, every new EV sold in the EU will require an ‘EV battery passport’.

The passport will prove the origin of the raw materials the battery contains, how much of the contents are recycled and their environmental footprint throughout its life cycle, including production and transport.

Volvo Cars has already launched the ‘world’s first EV battery passport’ for its flagship EX90 SUV, which is about to start production in the US.

Although these battery passports will be mandatory for all electric vehicles sold in the European Union (and Britain) from February 2027, one mainstream car brand has already taken a lead.

Volvo Cars has already launched the ‘world’s first EV battery passport’ for its flagship EX90 SUV, worth £100,000.

The passport was developed in-house by Volvo, owned by China’s Geely, in collaboration with British start-up Circulor.

It uses blockchain technology to map supply chains for businesses and has taken more than five years to develop.

Vanessa Butani, head of global sustainability at Volvo, told Reuters that the introduction of the passport, almost three years before the regulations come into effect, was intended to be transparent to car buyers as the carmaker aims to use only fully produce electric cars.

“It is very important for us to be a pioneer and leader,” Butani said.