EV battery decline: what is really happening?

The EV market has grown rapidly in recent years, with sales of new electric cars climbing across Europe. Confidence among buyers of new vehicles is strong, but the picture is less clear in the used market.

EVs depreciate faster than petrol or diesel vehicles, largely due to uncertainty around battery health. Many believe that if a battery fails, the only options are a costly replacement or, worse, scrapping the car altogether. It’s no surprise, then, that buyers remain cautious. Yet the long-term success of eMobility depends on a healthy second-hand market as much as new sales. So the key question is: are these concerns justified and what can be done to address them?

Comparing EV batteries with phone batteries

A common misconception is that EV batteries won’t fail because they have no moving parts. In reality, like all lithium-ion batteries, they can degrade over time.

The easiest comparison is with the battery in a phone: after a couple of years, most of us notice a drop in charging capacity. EV batteries work on the same chemistry, but the demands placed on them are far greater. With thousands of cells working together in a single pack, the odds of one ageing faster are higher, and just one weak cell can drag down the performance of the whole battery.

Rising demands, rising concerns

The demands placed on EV batteries have grown rapidly in just a few years. Early models, with relatively small 24 kWh packs, were often used as second cars for short trips. Today, with packs exceeding 60 kWh and fast-charging widely available, EVs are expected to serve as a household’s primary vehicle.

These bigger batteries, higher power densities, and faster charging requirements make designs more complex. Managing heat, integrating advanced cooling systems, and continually pushing performance limits all add new pressures.

This doesn’t mean EVs are unreliable, but it does explain why some concerns about battery decline persist. As expectations rise and technology is pushed harder, the scope for faults naturally increases, making robust repair and testing processes all the more important.

Can EV battery faults be repaired?

For years, many manufacturers assumed EV batteries wouldn’t fail, so they weren’t designed with repairability in mind. When faults did occur, the default approach was simply to replace the entire pack. That was manageable at low volumes, but as EV numbers grow, the financial and environmental costs make it unsustainable.

A battery pack will only perform to the level of its weakest cell. By identifying and replacing underperforming cells or modules with healthy ones, the whole pack can be restored to an optimal state of health. But this depends on having the right level of testing. Without it, faults can only be detected superficially, meaning packs are scrapped even though most of their components remain perfectly healthy.

Autocraft’s OptEVizer® testing capability makes this possible. By pinpointing the root causes of decline, and even spotting cells at risk of failure, corrective action can be taken both reactively and proactively. This ensures far more batteries can be repaired, kept in service, and used to their full potential.

The big picture for EV battery health

EV battery failures are rare, but as with any emerging technology, they do occur – and what matters is how they are managed. If people believe a single fault means an expensive replacement or even scrapping the car, confidence in EV ownership will suffer.

The reality is different. With the right testing, faults can be pinpointed, weak cells or modules replaced, and packs restored to optimal health. This offsets natural ageing and keeps vehicles on the road for longer.

Scaling repairs is the real challenge. Conventional workshops are slow, error-prone, and difficult to scale safely. Autocraft’s industrialised process through our REVIVE® Battery Workshops combines technician expertise with digital technologies such as augmented reality and LiDAR to create a “no-fault-forward” system, delivering thousands of repairs with over 99% success.

Ultimately, building confidence in the used EV market means removing uncertainty around battery health. Buyers and owners need to know that faults can be fixed safely, cost-effectively, and sustainably. That’s how EVs will thrive not only as new purchases, but in the second-hand market too.