This is a very interesting question, and can be answered in two ways. Either, asking about how long the energy in a car battery lasts before it needs to be topped up with a recharge? Or, asking how long until a car battery wears out and needs to be replaced because it cannot be recharged anymore.
The duration of any electric vehicle battery depends on the make and model, as well as how the battery has been used. Let’s look at the replacement question first.
What is the life expectancy of an electric car battery?
The Hyundai Kona has a warranty on the battery that guarantees it for 8 years, or up to 160,000km. This is a pretty standard amount across the range of electric cars in Australia.
Considering their 39.2kWh battery states a range of 305km, this means the battery guarantees at least 524 recharges. (Note, that I say “at least” because generally a driver won’t get the full stated range out of any given charge.)
The longer-range Kona battery with 64kWh is stated to deliver 484km on a single charge. So in this case you’re guaranteed at least 330 charge cycles.
The number of charge cycles is the most significant factor that degrades a battery over time. So the long range will probably last longer than a smaller battery version in the same vehicle, all other things being equal.
How many charge cycles does an electric car have?
Most electric car manufacturers state that their batteries will last 1500 – 2000 charge cycles. Some even say 3000. The Hyundai Kona is said to be able to last 1200 full-charge cycles before it dips below 80% of its original capacity. A full-charge cycle needs its own discussion, but essentially it means that if you top up the battery by half, two times, then that is equivalent to a full-charge cycle.
Batteries don’t last forever (yet) and so will need replacement over time. As you can see, a car battery will still last many years. A Hyundai Kona could expect to still be performing at 80% of its original range after 366,000km for the 39.2kWh version, and 580,800km for the longer-range 64kWh version! These are the kind of distances you’d brag about your Corolla or Landcruiser “still going strong after half a million kms”.
| Model | Range | Warranty length | Warranty charges |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kona 39.2kWh | 305km | 160,000km | 524 cycles |
| Kona 64kWh | 484km | 160,000km | 330 cycles |
How much does it cost to replace an electric car battery?
A car battery is actually less mysterious than we might first think. When we say battery, it is in fact a bank of smaller batteries. Like how we might place several AA batteries into a torch or flashlight, that is the same with a car “battery”. A single battery is made up of many cells, similar in shape to a AA battery, but about three times the size.
To replace a battery requires each of these cells to be taken out and new cells be placed back into the housing.
It is estimated that a Hyundai Kona 64kWh battery would cost AUD$13,000 in 2023 prices. This is after potentially 8-10+ years of driving. That is still cheaper than replacing a regular car engine. And considering that batteries are getting cheaper each year, by the time your new vehicle needs a new battery bank it is possibly going to be considerably less than this.
How long does an EV battery last in Australia?
At extreme cold it can take longer to charge an electric vehicle. Prolonged exposure to very cold or very hot conditions can reduce the life of an EV battery. These effects can be mitigated through smart management of a battery.
What is the lifespan of an electric car?
An electric car still has many familiar components. The overall shell can be expected to last as long as a traditional combustion engine vehicle. Electric motors are more reliable than combustion motors, and have less moving parts. Even though a battery might need replacing during the life of an electric car, it is quite affordable in the scheme of things. At the time of writing, many EVs in Australia could reasonably be expected to get close to 1 million kilometers with a single battery replacement somewhere in the middle.
How long does an electric car battery last before recharging?
Distance
This question is most often asked in relation to how far a car could drive, or the range. The range is mainly to do with the capacity of the car’s battery, and then how heavy the car, how fast it is driven, how steep the terrain and even how strong the headwinds.
Electric cars are given an expected range for a full battery by the manufacturers. The capacity in kWh determines this range.
However, it is rare that you will drive your car for exactly the stated range and then charge it. For example, the Hyundai Kona can have a range of 484km. But this doesn’t mean you’ll recharge it at the 484th kilometer. It is ideal to keep the battery above a certain percentage of charge, rather than fully deplete it. So you’d ideally charge it each night or every few nights before it gets that low.
For many drivers they would only drive further than 484km on a few occasions each year. Say you went on 4 holidays and 3 weekends away in a year. That is maybe 7 return trips that might go outside of your range. You can charge this at public fast charging stations, and even at your accommodation at night. If you assume that someone drives every day, then this is 14 out of 365 days that MIGHT go over the car’s range. 14 times when you would have to plan on charging your electric vehicle during a trip. That is 3.8% of your driving. So for 96% of the year you could charge at home, while you sleep. And get this… never have to visit a petrol station again!
Refueling is a regular part of everyday life that you could eliminate, and the price is that on perhaps 3% of your trips you might need to spend 45 minutes charging while you get lunch with your travelling companions.
Duration
There is another question that may be considered less. How long does an electric car battery last while idling? Clearly your range will be reduced if you are stuck in traffic but have the air conditioning running. And also, the question can consider, does a car battery lose charge over time? That is, what if I full charge my electric vehicle and then leave it in my garage for a month? Or for a year? Will it still be fully charged? Or does a battery lose some range over time?
The fact is, a battery depletes in charge ever so slightly over time. In the order of a few percentage points of charge each month. So even after being parked for a year, an electric car would still have plenty of charge and be drivable.