- The German Automobile Club has published the results of a four-year test
- A Volkswagen ID 3 Pro S Tour was used as the subject
- Its battery degradation after 107,000 miles surprised everyone involved
Europe’s largest car association, the German Automobile Club (ADAC), has conducted a four-year experiment on one of Volkswagen’s most popular small electric cars, subjecting it to more than 25,000 kilometers of driving per year and analyzing the effects on its battery packs.
The car association took delivery of the 77kWh VW ID 3 Pro S Tour in May 2021 and has since recruited various drivers to cover more than 100,000 miles over a four-year period. All the while, its battery condition was carefully checked by the Bavarian Test and Technology Center.
Volkswagen guarantees that the battery in its ID 3 will have at least 70% of its original net capacity after eight years of operation or 160,000 kilometers (around 99,400 miles) of driving, but this example still boasted a 91% net capacity after four years and 107,000 miles, meaning it was well within a healthy range that wouldn’t require battery replacement under a warranty package.
In fact, the calculations would mean that this ID 3 lost just eight miles of its claimed maximum range of 336 miles, despite fast charging stations being used 40% of the time during the test period.
What’s more, ADAC said the EV was often charged to 100% capacity and left for several days before being driven again – most manufacturers recommend only charging to 80% and leaving the battery capacity depleted if the vehicle is to sit for a number of days, but ADAC wanted this to be a real-world test that mimicked the behavior of typical owners.
All the German Automobile Association found was that the ID 3 only managed about 250 miles of range in motorway driving, as opposed to the official WLTP range of 326 miles. It also pointed out that several over-the-air updates were applied by VW over time, which fixed a number of bugs and increased the charging capacity to up to 170kW.
VW also stated that the updates had a positive effect on consumption and range. It claimed the new software significantly improved power consumption over short distances and in winter temperatures from 0 to 5C (32 to 41F).
Analysis: Electric cars get better (and greener) the older they get
The data from this comprehensive real-world EV analysis appears to support a number of recent studies showing that electric vehicle battery degradation is often overestimated, putting off potential buyers and fueling residual values.
A Swedish car broker recently found that the readily available Battery Sate of Health (SoH) reports on well over 1,000 used EVs revealed that both pure electric and plug-in hybrid battery packs retain over 90% of their capacity even after being subjected to high mileage and lots of quick charging.
British leasing company Arval also found an average battery health level of 93% in its own studies, concluding that even after 124,000 miles, average capacity remained close to 90%.
For many used EVs, this means claimed range drops by only a handful of miles, while charging speeds and efficiency remain largely unchanged.
With far fewer complex and mechanical components to go wrong, electric cars are increasingly looking like an affordable and reliable second-hand purchase.
This is particularly relevant given that reports suggest that electric vehicles do not repay their carbon debt to society until after 13,500 miles or about two years of ownership due to the energy-intensive nature of electric generation. Only at this point do they become a ‘greener’ option than their gas-guzzling alternatives.
Simply put, EVs become more environmentally friendly the longer they are owned and driven, especially if they are regularly charged off-peak, when excess renewable energy is often offered by energy providers.
Add to the mix the ability to recycle a large percentage of a battery pack at the end of its life, and the EV makes a compelling case for itself, even in its twilight years.
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