Almost nine out of 10 people want battery health check when buying an electric car

• 88% say an independent, certified assessment of the battery’s health is important to them

• 81% want to know how much capacity the battery has lost since the car was new 

• Also, 78% want to know how much charge it currently holds, shows August’s Startline Used Car Tracker

Almost nine out of 10 people want an independent, certified assessment of the battery’s health when buying an electric car, new research reports.

August’s Startline Used Car Tracker also shows 88% want to know how the battery has been looked after by previous owners and 83% how long it is likely to take to fully charge now. 

Furthermore, 83% would like an indication of how much capacity it is likely to lose in the future, 81% the amount lost since the car was new and 78% how much charge it can currently hold.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “As the motor industry is learning more and more about the long-term reliability of electric cars, it’s becoming clear that battery failure and even rapid decline in battery capacity are rare occurrences. However, when things do go wrong, it can be very expensive.

“Our data shows this message has reached consumers and there is a very strong desire to find out as much as possible about the battery of any car they are considering buying – and for this check to have a high degree of credibility. No-one wants to run the risk of having to pay a bill running into many thousands of pounds for battery repair or replacement.

“Of course, credible companies offering battery health check services are already present in the UK but we don’t have a formal, industrywide scheme of the type seen in some European countries. That leaves a credibility gap and is certainly something that would help inspire confidence in the used electric car market.”

He added that interestingly, all of the new responses on battery health checks were within 3% of when the same questions were asked in the Startline Used Car Tracker a year ago.

“Sentiment has barely moved at all, according to our data, which suggests this is something that car buyers very much want. The market should be moving faster to meet that need.”