Some people say that it will be useless after driving for five or six years, and replacing the battery is more expensive than buying a car. Others say that they have been driving for eight years, and the battery health is still 90%, so there is no need to worry about it. Who is right? As an old driver who has been working in the industry for many years, today I will show you the truth.
First, look at the data first. Many people’s judgment on battery life comes entirely from the individual cases of “my friends” and “my relatives” – this information deviation is too large. In fact, industry data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show that the current mainstream ternary lithium battery has a cycle life of more than 1,500 times, and lithium iron phosphate has exceeded 3,000 times. Calculated based on an average of 200 charge and discharge times per year for household cars, it is easy to last for 10 years.
More importantly, the battery warranty of all car companies is now rolling. 8 years and 150,000 kilometers is the bottom line, and brands such as BYD/NIO even give lifetime warranty. Do you think car companies dare to make such a promise because the battery is really easy to break, or because they have a bottom line in their hearts?
Second, attenuation is not terrible, what is terrible is not understanding attenuation. Batteries do decay, but it’s not what you think: the first year will lose power the fastest, with a possible loss of 3% to 5%. After that, the annual decay will stabilize at 1% to 2%. By the eighth year, it can generally maintain about 85% of its capacity.
For example: a car with a nominal range of 500 kilometers will actually have a range of about 400 kilometers after ten years. For daily commuting, it is completely sufficient. What really affects the lifespan are these two invisible killers, long-term full charge and discharge and use in extreme temperature environments, such as fast charging every day in the northeast at minus 30 degrees. Third, is it expensive to replace the battery? That’s old news!
There are always people who say “replacing the battery costs 70,000 to 80,000 yuan”, but they ignore three things:
1. Now the battery cost is decreasing by 10% each year, and the cost of lithium iron phosphate battery packs has fallen below 600 yuan/kWh in 2023.
A 60-kWh battery pack costs less than 40,000 yuan, and it will be cheaper in the future.
2. 90% of battery problems do not require overall replacement, and repairing a single module only costs a few thousand yuan.
3. The manufacturer’s warranty terms all state: free replacement for attenuation exceeding 30%.
The most rare thing is that there are now third-party battery insurance companies.
Pay a few hundred yuan in insurance premiums a year, and even accidental collisions can be compensated.
Fourth, batteries may be more valuable in ten years than they are now. This is probably something many people have not thought of:
With the popularization of V2G (vehicle to grid) technology, old electric vehicle batteries can be used as home energy storage equipment to earn peak and valley electricity price differences, or they can be dismantled and recycled to make energy storage power stations, with a residual value rate of over 40%. CATL’s latest financial report specifically mentioned that the scale of the power battery recycling market will exceed 150 billion in 2030. In other words, your old battery may be a financial product by then. Finally, here are three pieces of advice for car owners. If you plan to drive a new energy vehicle for a long time, remember these three points: First, give priority to brands with self-developed battery capabilities, and don’t buy miscellaneous brands. Second, do a full charge and discharge calibration at least once a month, and don’t let the battery “starve” for too long. Third, avoid long-term use in extreme environments below -20℃. If it doesn’t work, choose a model with a heat pump. In the final analysis, new energy batteries are like smartphone batteries. In the early days, they were indeed not durable, but now that the technology is mature, are you still worried that your phone will not last more than three years? The times are advancing, and it is time to update your cognition.
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