Batteries are the most critical components of new energy vehicles, especially pure electric vehicles. They directly affect the safe driving and cruising range of vehicles. Car owners are most concerned about how to charge new energy vehicle batteries correctly and how durable they are. How long is the durability of new energy vehicle batteries?
1. The truth about battery decay: Where is your car’s cruising range?
（1） Industry unwritten rules: The decay standard is looser than you think
The national standard stipulates that after 500 charge and discharge cycles, the capacity of the power battery of a new energy vehicle decays to less than 80% of the initial value before it is considered a quality problem.
However, in actual use, the natural decay of ternary lithium batteries is about 2.5%-3% per year, and that of lithium iron phosphate batteries is about 1.5%-2%.
Taking a ternary lithium model with a nominal cruising range of 400km as an example, the actual cruising range may drop to 280-320km after 5 years of age, which is far beyond the national standard qualification line but seriously affects the experience.
Case comparison: A driver of a certain brand of online car-hailing reported that the range of a lithium iron phosphate vehicle that ran 200,000 kilometers in three years was reduced from 410km to 330km, and the attenuation rate reached 19.5%, but it was judged to be normal because it was not less than 20%.
（2）Three invisible killers accelerate attenuation
① High temperature attack: After exposure in summer, the battery temperature exceeds 45℃, and the capacity attenuation rate increases by 0.1% for every hour (BYD blade battery laboratory data).
② Deep charge and discharge: Long-term use of less than 5% or charging to 100%, the single cycle attenuation rate increases by 0.3% (CATL test results).
③ Fast charging dependence: Fast charging more than 3 times a week, the attenuation rate in 3 years is 5%-8% higher than slow charging (Tesla user data statistics).
2. Car owner self-test guide: 3 steps to judge battery health
（1）Capture hidden data on the dashboard
① Tesla/BYD: Check the ratio of the current battery capacity to the factory capacity through the vehicle health report. If the difference exceeds 20%, you can apply for testing.
② Wuling/Nezha: No direct display, can record the full-charge mileage (such as a car with a nominal 400km, the actual remaining power after running 280km is 20%), use the formula to estimate the actual full-charge mileage = 280÷0.8=350km, the attenuation rate is (400-350)÷400=12.5%.
（2）Third-party testing to avoid pitfalls
① Be careful with roadside equipment: Some repair shops use voltage detectors to falsely claim that they can measure attenuation, but in fact they can only check the voltage of a single battery cell and cannot reflect the overall capacity.
② Look for CMA certification agencies: such as the China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (CAERI), the testing fee is about 800-1500 yuan, and the report issued can be used as evidence for rights protection.
（3）Manufacturers’ free testing strategies
① Must be done during the warranty period: BYD, Weilai and other brands provide free battery health testing once a year, which requires advance reservations and paper reports.
②Speaking skills: Emphasize to the 4S shop that the battery is suspected of affecting safety (rather than simply reducing the battery life), which can trigger deep testing faster (such as charge and discharge cycle testing).
3. How to delay attenuation?
（1）Charging strategy golden triangle
①Daily charging and discharging range: lithium iron phosphate maintains 20%-90%, ternary lithium maintains 30%-80%, and full charge calibration once a month (Tesla recommends).
②Low temperature pretreatment: Before charging in winter, turn on the air conditioner for 10 minutes (using an external power supply) to increase battery activity before charging, which can increase charging efficiency by 15%-20%.
③Slow charging priority: at least 1 slow charge (AC pile) per week, and the proportion of fast charging is controlled within 30% (recommended by CATL).
（2）3 avoidance and 3 selections for parking environment
①Avoid pits: stay away from open-air charging piles (summer sun exposure/winter cold wind), stay away from high temperature areas such as gas stations, and avoid parking on uneven roads (to prevent battery bottoming).
②Preferred: underground garage (constant temperature of 10-25℃ is best), charging pile with awning, exclusive parking space equipped with ground lock (reduce frequent car moving loss).
（3）Software function anti-common sense settings
① Turn off the chicken blood mode: Tesla acceleration mode and BYD sport mode will increase the battery discharge rate, and long-term use will increase attenuation. It is recommended to use the standard mode for daily use.
②Turn on battery protection: limit the charging upper limit in the car settings (such as setting it to 80%), and models such as Weilai and Xiaopeng support custom charging thresholds.
③Air conditioning energy-saving tips: When heating in winter, set the temperature to 20℃ (saving 30% more electricity than 26℃), and use it with seat heating to reduce the burden on the battery.
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