Most motorists would ‘demand’ used battery health check

Almost nine out of 10 motorists (87%) say it is important to have an independent, certified used EV assessment to check if previous owners looked after the vehicle’s battery, according to August’s Startline Used Car Tracker.

83% want to know how long the battery will take to fully charge, 82% want verification on the battery capacity that has been lost since, 81% want to know how much capacity is likely to be lost in the future and 79% would like to know how much charge the battery currently holds.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “Probably the number one fear that consumers have when buying a used electric car is that the battery will fail or otherwise degrade very quickly. They know it could cost several thousand pounds to buy a replacement.

“In real-world conditions, these worries are largely proving to be unfounded. There are now millions of electric cars on roads across the world and battery degradation is generally happening much more slowly than anticipated while outright battery failure, although not unknown, remains a rare occurrence.

“However, used car buyers clearly want reassurance and some form of formal testing that shows the battery of the vehicle they are considering buying has been well-looked-after, with a good idea of how it is likely to perform in the future, is probably the best available solution to allay their worries.”

The new Labour government’s manifesto mentions the introduction of a standardised battery health check.

Burgess said: “In our view, this would be a very good idea. Having a government-backed and approved battery test that provided the information consumers want would be a very real boost for the used electric car market, especially if it was backed by some form of warranty.”