Richard Simmons recently completed a 260-mile road trip across England in his five-year-old Tesla Model 3 without needing to stop for a charge.
A new electric vehicle could make such a journey effortlessly. However, Simmons's car—affectionately named "Miles"—has already covered 247,000 miles and continues to handle frequent long-distance travel reliably.
Simmons, who runs a UK-based used car sales company specializing in EVs, has observed that the batteries in these vehicles maintain strong performance even after several hundred thousand miles. This finding has pleasantly surprised him and other electric vehicle enthusiasts.
"They are proving to be very reliable," Simmons remarked.
According to data science firm Recurrent, which provides battery monitoring tools for EVs, the average electric vehicle retains about 95% of its original driving range after five years—a better outcome than many in the auto industry had anticipated.
Jessica Caldwell, an insights director at the car shopping resource Edmunds, noted that mainstream consumers have not yet developed full trust in EV batteries. "Buyers still have a lot of concerns," she stated.
A 2025 survey by industry research firm AutoPacific identified the fear of having to pay for a battery replacement as the top reason potential new car buyers avoid electric vehicles.
Consumer concerns were more justified with the earliest EVs on the market. Roughly one in every 12 electric vehicles produced between 2011 and 2016 required a battery replacement. However, recent data indicates that newer models are performing much better. A 2025 study by Recurrent found that only 0.3% of EVs produced in 2022 or later have needed a battery replacement.
Advancements in battery technology have helped electric vehicles avoid the issues that plagued early models like the 2010 Nissan Leaf. That vehicle lacked the battery cooling systems common in today's EVs and frequently made headlines for its rapid battery degradation.
According to Scott Case, co-founder and CEO of Recurrent, buyer perception has yet to catch up with this reality.
"I think people should be more confident than they are," Case said.
Yue Nguyen Tien, a researcher at the London School of Economics focusing on electric vehicles, stated that the latest battery-powered EVs have a lifespan comparable to internal combustion engine cars, even when driven for longer distances.
Nguyen Tien explained that improvements in battery chemistry, battery management systems, and thermal regulation technology have been key to extending battery life and reducing costs. A report released late last year showed that battery prices have dropped by more than 90% since 2010.
Industry analysts say that as more electric vehicles are designed with long-term repairability in mind, the cost of battery replacement is also decreasing.
Out-of-warranty battery replacements can cost between $5,000 and $16,000, depending on the manufacturer, according to Recurrent. However, Case noted that many EV makers have shifted towards designs that allow for the repair of smaller components within a battery pack, helping owners avoid the full cost of a complete replacement.
Nevertheless, EV batteries are not without their challenges. According to telematics company Geotab, batteries that frequently use high-power fast charging lose range at roughly twice the average rate of those charged at lower power.
Regularly charging a battery to 100% or letting it sit at 0% for extended periods can also reduce an EV's long-term range. Furthermore, electric vehicles typically experience reduced range in extremely cold or hot weather.
In the United States, consumer adoption of electric vehicles remains incomplete. The rollback of EV subsidies and regulations by the Trump administration, which were designed to stimulate the new EV market, has dampened consumer enthusiasm. Data from automotive intelligence firm Motor Intelligence shows that EV sales in 2026 are down 25% compared to last year so far.
However, industry analysts do not expect the slowdown in U.S. EV sales to last indefinitely. Consulting firm AlixPartners forecasts that the share of new EVs sold in the U.S. is expected to nearly double to 11% of new car sales by 2030.
Globally, electric vehicles currently account for 15% of new car sales, a figure projected to reach nearly a quarter of the global market by 2030, according to AlixPartners data.
EV advocates like Ken Yannacci hope that a clearer understanding of battery longevity will help boost the adoption of electric vehicles in the U.S. Yannacci is a market analyst and the founder of a website for EV owners and enthusiasts.
"Getting recognition for the extended life of EV batteries would certainly help," he said.
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