Scramble to find worth of used EVs

Reading Time: 2 minutes

A race is on to certify battery health and performance in used electric vehicles, with a clutch of startups scrambling to help buyers figure out how much a secondhand EV is really worth.

With traditional combustion-engine cars, mileage and years racked up can quickly tell prospective buyers how much they should fork out. That formula does not work with EVs – whose value depends largely on their battery’s driving range and ability to hold a charge.

Until recently, there was no way to measure battery health, hampering used EV sales. But that is changing as companies rush to scale up EV battery tests – some of which take just minutes.

One of them is Altelium, a UK startup that has a developed an EV battery state-of-health test and certificate launching this year in more than 7 000 US car dealers and over 5 000 UK dealers through dealer service providers including Assurant and GardX.

“If the second-hand car market doesn’t work properly, the new car market doesn’t work properly and the electric transition won’t happen,” said Alex Johns, business development manager at Altelium, which says it has received interest from other markets including China. “We’re in an implementation race.”

A battery typically makes up around 40% of a new EV’s price. How that battery is treated is key. Charging an EV rapidly too often, constantly charging when the battery is nearly full or leaving it for long periods fully charged can degrade its battery more quickly.

Austrian startup Aviloo, which has developed a test for dealers and private individuals, has found that after 100 000 kilometres (62,140 miles) EV battery health can vary by up to 30%.

A consumer who wants a used EV with 90% of its range when new could end up buying one with just 70% because of the previous owner’s bad charging habits – which should potentially have thousands of euros off its value, said Marcus Berger, CEO of Aviloo.

“With an EV, mileage and age don’t tell you anything,” said Berger. “It’s all about the battery.”