What are the leading causes of EV battery damage?
Charging behaviors and heat are the things to pay attention to.
Your electric vehicle's battery is pretty resilient, but that doesn't mean it's impervious to damage. A study from Geotab shows that while even the average high-use EV battery hangs on to nearly 82 percent of its original storage capacity after eight years, a handful of factors affect the rate at which it degrades.
As it stands, Geotab says the average annual degradation rate for EVs is about 2.3%. That decline can impact not only the driving range of your car, but also how it performs, as well as its resale value down the line. As such, the study outlines a few areas to be mindful of if you want to go a little easier on your battery. From how you charge your EV to how hot it is where you live, here's what could be causing damage to your EV battery.
About the study
Geotab has been publishing studies dealing with EV battery degradation since 2020. For this iteration, it analyzed more than 22,700 EVs, encompassing 21 different models. The data comes from real-world telematics actually pulled from the vehicles. The study also notes that because the data is aggregated and averaged, an individual car might degrade faster or slower than the average depending on the specific battery and how it's used.
These findings come at a time when more consumers are considering EVs. Data shows a rise in EV ownership in the last five years, with a few dips along the way, signaling that electric vehicles remain a primary focus for drivers.
Causes of EV battery damage
Geotab identifies a handful of factors that could be hurting your EV's battery. One of the main culprits could be DC fast charging, or DCFC. Fast charging can be convenient for EV owners on road trips, typically getting a battery up to about 80 percent in anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.
However, the study found that EVs that used DCFC more often lost battery capacity faster. Those who used fast charging for 12 percent or more of their charging sessions saw an annual degradation rate of 2.5%, compared to 1.5% for those who used it for less than 12 percent of their sessions.
In addition to the frequency of fast charging, Geotab says charging power also plays a role. Cars charged more frequently at a higher power saw an annual degradation rate of about 3 percent, as compared to high-frequency, low power or low frequency charging sessions.
Aside from fast charging, other factors affect your EV's battery life, such as temperature. Heat boosts chemical activity, which translates into more stress inside the cell. Electric vehicles feature internal battery management systems that help regulate temperature.
The study found that EVs in hotter climates saw faster degradation than those in milder conditions. Though battery degradation is inevitable, watching out for circumstances that make it worse can help EV owners get more out of their batteries.
