EV Battery Longevity: A new frontier for fleet management
Commercial fleets have been the driving force behind the UK’s adoption of electric vehicles; in the first half of last year, data suggests fleet registrations represented more than 83% of new EVs on our roads.
With this increased adoption comes a whole new set of considerations for fleets’ vehicle lifecycle strategies, one of the most prominent being long-term battery longevity and maintenance requirements.
sopp+sopp work with some of the UK’s largest EV fleets to deliver end-to-end accident management solutions - from incident response, to repair, parts supply, engineering, and claims management.
We’ve worked with household name bands to help them navigate the complexities of transitioning from ICE to EV, and what it means for their long-term repair, maintenance, and operational needs.
In this article, we explore why EV battery longevity is such a critical factor for fleets, and how they can navigate its impact throughout the commercial vehicle lifecycle:
How long do EV batteries last?
The lifespan of an electric vehicle battery can vary based on its design, chemical composition, and day-to-day usage. However, most batteries in today’s EVs are designed to last 10-20 years, with manufacturer warranties typically covering 8-10 years.
Warranties and lifespans for commercial EVs, like electric LCVs, can vary due to the increased load and range requirements. For example, Ford’s all-electric e-Transit comes with a standard battery warranty of eight years, or 100,000 miles - whichever comes sooner.
How quickly do EV batteries degrade?
EV batteries degrade over time, often leading to reduced range, power output, and efficiency. Lithium ion batteries typically degrade at a rate of 2.3% per year with moderate usage, meaning by the end of its 20-year lifespan, the average EV battery may have lost around 46% of its original capacity.
Other battery types, like zinc ion and solid state batteries, have been shown to degrade at a slower rate - with some studies showing degradation of less than 1% per year for the latter.
What causes them to degrade?
EV battery degradation can be affected by a number of factors, including how the vehicle is used, the conditions it encounters, and how it’s charged throughout its lifetime:
Inefficient driving habits
Aggressive acceleration and braking, high speed driving, and uneven road conditions can all accelerate EV battery degradation, potentially shortening their lifespan or leading to costly repairs.
Heat & environmental factors
Prolonged exposure to hot conditions can accelerate the chemical reactions behind battery degradation - leading to shorter lifespans and reduced performance over time. Cold temperatures, on the other hand, can slow down the chemical reactions necessary for batteries to function properly, affecting their power output, and ability to hold a charge. Weather conditions and storage temperatures are therefore crucial considerations for EV owners & operators.
Suboptimal charging methods
Methods like fast charging, while convenient, can cause the battery to produce excess heat, speeding up its degradation long-term. Additionally, allowing the battery to completely discharge, or reach low levels on a regular basis, can also impact its longevity.
Different vehicle use cases
Ultimately, the way the vehicle is used is the number one factor behind battery degradation. Commercial vehicles, which often carry heavy cargo, or travel long distances, may experience higher rates of battery degradation throughout their lifespans.
The impact of EV battery longevity on fleet decision-making
Battery longevity brings a new and unique set of considerations for fleets, as they transition from internal combustion vehicles to newer electric assets.
Here are some of the key areas of fleet management impacted by EV battery longevity:
Calculating vehicle lifecycle costs & TCO
Before purchasing and deploying any new vehicles, it’s critical for fleets to understand the potential total cost of ownership (TCO) in detail - the long-term cost of owning and maintaining the vehicle throughout its lifecycle. This means harnessing data from across the automotive market to understand the model’s maintenance requirements, incident frequency, damage trends, average repair costs, and write-off rates.
However, with EVs being so new to our roads, it can be a challenge for fleets to access the high-quality data necessary to drive these TCO calculations - particularly when it comes to battery degradation rates, common types of battery damage, and how these impact repair costs & resale value. This can make it more difficult for fleets to weigh up risk, and potential return on investment, before rolling out new EV assets.
Tracking resale & salvage value trends
Battery degradation can significantly impact vehicle resale value, particularly in the first few years of ownership. This, again, is a critical factor in fleets’ TCO calculations, due to its potential impact on ROI when rolling out or testing newer vehicles.
While advancements in battery technology are helping EVs hold their long-term value, the impact on resale & salvage remains a critical consideration for fleets.
Planning long-term operational adjustments
No matter how they’re used, EV batteries will always degrade over time, and gradually impact overall vehicle performance as they age. This means fleets will have to account for potential reductions in efficiency and performance throughout the vehicle’s lifespan, posing considerations for route planning, vehicle use cases, and retention vs replacement decisions.
Additionally, they’ll need solid processes in place for drivers to report signs of battery degradation early, and the right maintenance partnerships to resolve issues if/when they arise.
James Fisher, CEO of Gecko Risk, our EV & AFV data partners, comments:
“From a data perspective, we are seeing an increasing number of fleet write-offs due to battery damage at any level of severity.
We believe this is driven by both insurer claims instructions, and a lack of industry-wide diagnostics when it comes to complex, manufacturer-specific systems.”
What can fleets do to extend EV battery lifespans?
“Responding the issue of battery longevity will require an enhanced understanding the data, and collaboration across the mobility sector - between insurers, fleets, repairers, and OEMs. This kind of action will be crucial should fleets be transitioning to electric in line with Government mandates.” - James Fisher, CEO, Gecko Risk Limited
Here are some strategies fleets can adopt to manage battery longevity challenges, and even extend the battery performance and lifespan of their vehicles:
1 - Invest in reliable & efficient charging systems
The reliability of your fleet’s charging infrastructure, and your approach to recharging, will have an enormous impact on battery performance and longevity.
Investing in efficient charging stations with dynamic charging technology, and training drivers on recharging best practices, can drastically improve long-term battery outlook.
Avoiding overcharging, excess heat, and unstable voltages are all key to maximising the lifespan of your fleet’s electric vehicles, and slowing down battery degradation.
2 - Implement regular battery health checks
EV battery health checks can be an effective way to benchmark performance, like capacity retention, voltage stability, and charging efficiency.
Fleets can integrate these checks with regular scheduled maintenance and servicing, to gain regular insights into battery performance, and spot issues ahead of time - reducing potential downtime.
Many newer EVs even come with built-in battery management systems, which enable fleets to monitor battery health through the vehicle’s onboard software. As connected technology advances, this could enable fleets to gauge battery performance remotely, and take a more proactive approach to maintenance intervention.
3 - Promote more predictive fleet maintenance strategies
By implementing real-time defect reporting, battery monitoring, and harnessing historic maintenance data, fleets can develop more predictive maintenance strategies - designed to spot battery issues ahead of time, and intervene before they impact vehicle uptime.
Achieving this proactivity requires a unification of vehicle data, and accessible methods for drivers to report damage, or signs of battery defects, in real time.
Some fleets are even implementing artificial intelligence to help them spot trends in vehicle performance & maintenance data, and flag vehicles for repair or intervention if they show signs of issues.
This, combined with visual damage recognition from driver-conducted video or image assessments, can lead to more effective downtime reduction, and help fleets avoid costly battery repairs or replacements in the long run.
4 - Educate drivers on battery-saving best practices
As mentioned, driving habits and charging methods have a significant impact on battery longevity. Frequent rapid acceleration, heavy braking, or use of suboptimal or regular ‘rapid’ charging, can all contribute to more rapid degradation of EV batteries. Even something as simple as leaving an EV plugged in overnight, without dynamic charging, can harm battery lifespans.
It’s therefore crucial for fleets to adopt EV-first driver training programmes during the transition from ICE to electric vehicles, to help them adjust to the change in both driving experience and vehicle best practices.
Additionally, it’s essential that drivers can access efficient, reliable charging infrastructure, whether on-site or at home. Not all charging stations are built to the same standards when it comes to preserving long-term battery performance, making owned infrastructure and equipment a critical consideration for fleets.
5 - Get ahead with battery disposal & recycling partnerships
End-of-life battery disposal is one of the most significant long-term considerations for operators when transitioning to EVs, especially those with larger fleets. Safe and sustainable battery disposal pipelines are not just critical for ESG standards, but also for projecting and minimising vehicle lifecycle costs.
Vehicle recycling partners are increasingly seeking to enhance battery disposal methods and frameworks, especially when it comes to circular reuse of cells and their materials, which can minimise energy output and materials wastage.
Additionally, the growing requirement for greener solutions is encouraging manufacturers to design more modular batteries, which can be dismantled more easily, making circular or raw materials recycling more achievable.
However, as corporate EV adoption grows, scaling these solutions will require significant collaboration and investment from both fleets and their suppliers, in order to maintain consistent costs and outcomes.
What are EV manufacturers doing to overcome longevity challenges?
Battery longevity is a pivotal issue for EV manufacturers, as uptake increases amongst both consumers and commercial buyers, and both cohorts apply more technical consideration to their purchasing decisions.
In an effort to extend EV battery lifespans, manufacturers are experimenting with new battery designs, chemistry, charging technology, and refurbishment/swapping solutions to minimise maintenance, and conserve long-term vehicle performance.
Optimising battery design & chemistry
Exploring new battery layouts, cell placement, and chemistries to improve thermal stability and power retention, in an effort to slow down degradation and extend both battery performance and lifespans.
Harnessing battery management systems
Implementing advanced battery management systems to stabilise heat, optimise power usage, and streamline charging cycles - within both vehicles themselves and charging infrastructure.
Investing in battery refurbishment technology
Improving battery maintenance and refurbishment methods to reduce repair complexity, costs, and materials wastage - improving vehicle lifespans and minimising the need for full-scale replacements.
Looking to alternatives like battery swapping
Investing in interchangeable and easily removable EV batteries, which can be swapped out regularly for maintenance and monitoring, and even leased from the OEM to take responsibility away from the vehicle’s driver/operator. This could even be used long-term as a quicker alternative to recharging, with publicly-available battery swapping stations which take only a few minutes to switch out the battery with a fully-charged replacement.
sopp+sopp: Future-Proof Fleet Accident Management
sopp+sopp work with some of the UK’s largest EV fleets to deliver specialist accident management services - encompassing everything from incident reporting to vehicle repair, across all vehicle types, sizes, and classes.
We’re specialists in commercial vehicle repair management - our UK-wide repair network can accommodate HGVs and LCVs of all fuel types, including EV and Hybrid varieties.
We share our customers’ commitment to a low-carbon future for commercial transportation. That’s why we consider EVs, AFVs, and future ZEV innovations throughout all our key process - from how we report incidents, integrate with vehicle technology, and ensure right-first-time repair and claims journeys.
End-to-End Accident Management
Our fleet-dedicated in-house teams handle the accident management process from start to finish, and keep our clients updated throughout the claims progress. This includes collecting incident reports, engaging third parties, triaging vehicle damage, engineering effective repairs, deploying vehicles, and ensuring they’re repaired swiftly & in-full.
Every step in the journey is tailored to your fleet’s unique requirement, and the specific needs of the vehicle in question - whatever its size, type, specification, or powertrain.
Partnerships with Leading EV & AFV Data Specialists
sopp+sopp work in close partnership with leading EV & AFV data specialists, Gecko Risk. This enables us to harness the latest insights to identify trends in ZEV purchasing & repair costs, and use them to help our customers get the most from their EV transition.
Commercial vehicle expertise
Our triage, engineering, and repair processes are tailored to the unique requirements of commercial vehicles, and their onboard technologies & equipment.
We consider each vehicle's unique attributes and circumstances from the outset, and ensure this data is used to inform the most appropriate methods of recovery, damage assessment, and repair.
We'll consider everything from the vehicle's make, model, category, and fuel type - to the equipment and technology it has on board, ensuring we deliver a right-first-time repair journey, no matter the complexities involved.
Extensive UK-Wide Repair Network
Our UK-wide repair network caters for all vehicle types - including cars, vans, and HGVs. Whatever your vehicles’ specifications or fuel types, our repair network has the capacity and expertise to deliver swift, right-first-time repairs, including on EVs and hybrids.
FNOL & eNOL Incident Reporting
We’re committed to delivering swift, accurate incident reporting for fleets of all sizes and specifications, tailored for the specialist requirements of commercial vehicles.
Our in-house telephone FNOL team are supported by our self-developed technology, including our eNOL incident reporting application - Activate Initiate.
We recognise that quick and qualitative incident reporting is paramount to reducing claims costs, and minimising vehicle downtime. We’re constantly innovating to improve the speed, accuracy, and ease of our clients’ incident reporting processes.
To learn more about sopp+sopp, and our range of technology-driven fleet management solutions, get in touch with our team for a no-obligation call:
In Summary
As commercial fleets accelerate the UK’s EV adoption, battery longevity has become a key factor in long-term fleet strategy. EV batteries last 10-20 years, but performance declines over time due to:
Driving habits: Frequent rapid acceleration, hard braking, and high-speed driving increase wear.
Environmental conditions: Extreme heat speeds up degradation, while cold weather affects power output.
Charging practices: Frequent fast charging and deep discharges reduce battery lifespan.
EV battery longevity affects fleet operators due to:
Increased total cost of ownership (TCO): Battery degradation impacts long-term maintenance and replacement costs, making it a critical consideration for TCO calculations.
Affecting resale value – Reduced battery capacity lowers vehicle value in secondary markets.
Requiring operational adjustments – Fleets must plan for efficiency drops and evolving maintenance needs.
To extend EV battery life, fleets can:
Invest in smart charging infrastructure: Use efficient tech, and dynamic charging to prevent overcharging and overheating.
Schedule regular battery health checks: Monitor performance and detect issues early.
Adopt predictive maintenance: Use data insights to prevent failures, identify issues early, and reduce vehicle downtime.
Train drivers on best practices: Educate drivers on EV driving best practices and optimal charging habits.
Manufacturers are also improving battery management systems, chemistry, and refurbishment to slow degradation. A proactive approach to battery longevity will help fleets reduce costs, optimise operations, and maximise EV investment value.