Remarketing
Health fanatic E
V batteries tend to hold up pretty well over time, at least according to what we know so far. A recent Arval study of 8,300 battery state-of-health (SoH) certificates for used EVs from 30 different brands and across eight countries, including the UK, reported average capacity of 93%-100%. Generational, which specialises in SoH tests, says typical battery degradation is 1.82% a year (it stresses that is a broad average and varies by individual vehicle).
If those sorts of numbers prevail, then worries about longevity could eventually die down. For now, it is an understandable concern, albeit one fanned by the flames of misinformation. Beyond just wanting something with decent range, used buyers less educated and incentivised than company car drivers could well be worried about a five-figure bill if the battery goes bang – and potentially completely unaware of the industry-standard eight-year/100,000- mile battery warranties.
That is where SoH certificates come in, with a time- and date-stamped record of how much original capacity remains. They typically comprise a pdf or a jpeg, often with a QR code that leads to a download
26 | May/June 2025 |
www.businesscar.co.uk “Two years ago, one
person might’ve asked, and if you said no, they’d probably go ‘don’t worry about it’.”
A European study by SoH specialist Aviloo claimed buyers were willing to pay €550 to €1,100 more for a used EV with a certificate from an independent provider than one without, and analysis of UK vehicle buyers by Generational last year again suggested it added value to the car.
Used electric car buyers are increasingly enquiring about battery state of health. Jack Carfrae asks what it means for remarketing.
and more information. There are various ways of pulling the data (the most scientific – and labour- intensive – can involve fully decharging or even extracting the battery) but the combination of a dongle plugged into the vehicle’s OBD port and an app to run the test/generate the certificate is among the quickest, even if it relies on OEM data stored in the vehicle.
So far, there is no independent metric to prove a certificate’s impact on residual values. Both Cap HPI and Glass’s told us it was not yet possible to put a figure on their effect, but the former’s head of current car valuations, Chris Plumb, says they are “helping to dispel the myth that batteries won’t last”. Crucially, consumers are asking for them. Arval sells and re-leases a portion of its used vehicles through its Autoselect direct-to-retail platform and claims to be the first leasing company to issue SoH certificates – generated by Aviloo and Moba – when reselling EVs. It says such enquiries are increasingly common.
“[Buyers] will ring up, then probably the second or third question will be ‘do you test the battery?’” reports head of B2B and remarketing partnerships, Stuart Chamberlain. “Two years ago, one person might’ve asked, and if you said no, they’d probably go ‘don’t worry about it’. But now, there’ve been a few who say ‘please can I see the battery certificate?’ and if they can’t, they might consider not buying the car. It’s becoming more prevalent.”
It chimes with results from a Cox Automotive survey of used EV buyers’ considerations,
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