The big problem electric vehicles have had has always been battery related. Diminishing battery life, exaggerated range claims and high replacement costs were always going to become a factor in second hand car prices. Quoted battery replacement costs of between £800 and £3000 are significant and would always come into play as a EV reached three to four years in age, as manufacturers have always said that battery life was around about eight years, but what people need to remember is technology is advancing in leaps and bounds when it comes to EV batteries.
The latest EV battery is half the size of ones being made just six years ago, has twice the capacity and has a discharge and deterioration rate that is 70% better, so is now likely to have a viable recharge life of nearer 12 years than 8. Not only that but it is also about 30% cheaper to produce and faster to charge.
Because the newer generation of batteries are lighter and smaller than the originals, retro fitting them into existing vehicles should be fairly simple.