Automotive Business Magazine – Q3 2026 – Digital edition - Flipbook - Page 12
OPI N I O N
EV
The next phase is
battery transparency
→ Oliver Phillpott is CEO at Generational
F
or decades, age and mileage
have provided a reasonably
effective shorthand for
assessing used vehicles. For EVs
and PHEVs they do not tell the
whole story. Battery condition
is becoming one of the most
dependable factors guiding
vehicle value, performance,
buyer confidence and future risk.
The reassuring news is that the
fundamentals remain strong. Our recent
analysis of 2,000 used plug-in vehicles
found that both BEVs and PHEVs retained
robust average battery health. BEVs
averaged 94.94% State of Health, while
PHEVs averaged 94.27%.
However, the more important finding
sits beneath the average. The same
analysis showed a wider spread of
battery health among used PHEVs than
BEVs. PHEVs recorded a 5.48% standard
deviation, compared with 4.14% for BEVs.
Meanwhile, 4.70% of PHEVs fell below
85%, compared with 1.50% of BEVs.
That does not mean PHEVs are
inherently problematic. In reality, they
are used in more varied ways. Some
PHEVs are driven largely on electric
power, others rely more heavily on the
combustion engine. Some experience
frequent shallow charge and discharge
cycles. As a result, two PHEVs of similar
age and mileage can have very different
battery histories.
The old myth was that EV batteries
degrade quickly and unpredictably,
but the data increasingly shows that
is not true. Most batteries are proving
highly resilient, even at higher ages and
mileages. The new myth to guard against
is that strong median performance
removes the need to assess individual
vehicles. That’s where parties looking to
nurture trust and credibility in the usedplug-in market fall down. With that parc
growing, variation between individual
vehicles will become more important,
not less. Battery condition is shaped by
12
AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS
Q3 2026
charging behaviour, usage profile, climate
exposure, vehicle type and general care
– and those factors are not visible just
from inspecting the odometer.
For retailers, transparent battery data
reduces risk of taking on problematic
stock and helps build buyer confidence.
For fleets, it can inform holding-period
decisions, charging strategies and
remarketing outcomes. For finance
providers and insurers, it enables risk to
be priced against real condition rather
than conservative assumptions.
Arguably most importantly for driving
adoption at scale: for consumers, it
provides confidence that the vehicle they
are buying will meet their expectations.
Without that visibility, the market
defaults to caution. Buyers assume
the possibility of degradation, dealers
discount to manage uncertainty,
and finance providers price risk
conservatively – before residual values
come under pressure. That affects both
the used market and the affordability
and attractiveness of new EVs.
Battery transparency should be seen
as market infrastructure. In the same
way that mileage verification and service
history became normalised in the used
ICE market, verified battery condition
needs to become a standard part of the
used plug-in vehicle transaction.
A healthy used market is essential to
the success of the wider transition. It
gives more drivers access to electric
mobility at lower price points, supports
fleet renewal, strengthens residual
values and gives manufacturers and
finance providers greater confidence in
future demand. Transparency is the core
driver in successfully setting that, and
consistent growth, up moving forward.
Battery degradation is not the systemic
risk many once assumed, but battery
opacity remains a very real commercial
risk. Transparent, case-by-case testing
will give it the credibility it desperately
needs to succeed.
