Why battery health checks are essential to the used car market

Main image credit: Paul Burgess, CEO, Startline Motor Finance

As the first wave of electric company cars arrive at the end of their leases and begin to make their way through the remarketing cycle, we are starting to see them appear on the used market in larger and larger quantities. 

Our sector has seen seemingly endless discussion about this subject, from intensive and authoritative studies about the electric vehicle (EV) buyer mindset through to social media stories apparently designed to achieve no more than scare people out of buying a used electric car. 

However, amongst all of this noise, there appears to be one certainty about the used EV sector – potential buyers and dealers really want some form of battery health check. 

We covered this topic in a recent edition of our Startline Used Car Tracker research. It showed 88% of consumers want an independent, certified assessment of battery health when buying an electric car, 83% an indication of how much capacity the battery 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. 

Data from dealers paints a similar picture with 90% saying the used electric car sector needs an industry-wide scheme for battery health tests and 78% believing battery health is an essential consideration for most electric car buyers. 

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, even though battery costs are falling, it can undoubtedly be very expensive when things do go wrong.

Our research 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.

Of course, 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.

We also asked dealers about how any battery health check scheme should be delivered and there is a difference of opinion – 38% think battery health check providers should meet an industry-created standard while 36% say any such scheme should be government backed.

There are plans for a government scheme but progress appears to be slow. However, there is, of course, nothing to stop any of the major industry bodies from creating their own standard with the many battery health check providers already working in the market. In a used electric car market where residual values remain low and there is a general degree of concern about the volume of vehicles starting to circulate, it is a move that could give consumers the confidence to buy their first EV.

Founded in 2013, Startline is one of the UK’s leading motor finance companies, providing flexible solutions to around half of the top 50 franchise dealers and 70% of the top 50 independent car retailers measured by turnover, as well as accounting for more than 2% of the motor finance market by volume. It aims to deliver market-defining levels of customer service, compliance, innovation and insight. The company is headquartered in Glasgow where it employs more than 200 people and has a comprehensive sales presence throughout the whole of the UK.