For owners of new - energy vehicles, a common concern revolves around battery degradation following long - term use, especially the prohibitive cost associated with battery replacement. Recurrent, a research institution, delved into data from roughly 1,000 electric vehicles that had clocked over 240,000 kilometers. They made a side - by - side comparison of these vehicles' actual driving ranges with those of brand - new ones. Their findings revealed that battery technology has made remarkable strides over the past ten years.

Specifically, the battery degradation rate in electric vehicles from the 2023 model year is 10% less than that of their 2012 counterparts. In terms of range retention, vehicles from 2012 maintained an average rate of 81%, whereas 2023 models can still hold onto 91% of their original driving range.

Moreover, the battery replacement rate for third - generation electric vehicles is astonishingly low. Only a mere 0.3% of these vehicles have needed battery replacements. This figure pales in comparison to the 2% replacement rate for models produced between 2017 and 2021 and shows a substantial improvement over the 8.5% replacement rate for the first mass - produced electric vehicles.

Based on these findings, Recurrent anticipates that new electric vehicle models will remain free from significant battery issues for a minimum of 15 years.