New data from Geotab suggests that electric vehicle batteries can last 20 years or more, and in most cases will outlast the useful life of the vehicle they power.

Geotab says current battery packs degrade at a rate of just 1.8% per year, thanks in part to recent advancements that have seen average battery health improve 22% over the past five years.

The analysis included nearly 5,000 fleet and private EVs, which produced nearly 1.5 million days of telematics data. The last such analysis Geotab did in 2019 revealed a degradation rate of 2.3% per year.

“With these higher levels of sustained health, batteries in the latest EV models will comfortably outlast the usable life of the vehicle and will likely not need to be replaced,” said David Savage, vice-president for the UK and Ireland at Geotab.

“However, we still see battery reliability being used as a stick to beat EVs with. Hopefully, data like ours can finally put these myths to bed. The fact is that a 1.8% decline in battery health is unlikely to have a significant impact on most driver’s daily vehicle needs, and this number will only come down further with new EV models and improved battery technology. People should feel confident that many current EVs are suitable and cost-effective to replace a range of light, medium and heavy-duty ICE vehicles.”

One potentially surprising finding from the Geotab research is that high-use electric vehicles did not show significantly higher battery degradation than others. Geotab says this should be welcome news to fleet operators in particular, since EVs offer better value the more they are driven.