How many miles and/or years are electric vehicle battery packs supposed to last?

Now that I'm retired an electric vehicle seems to be the most practical, if not the cheapest, option to replace my Ford Mondeo estate. Being on a fixed and limited budget now, I'm looking at secondhand cars. How many miles or years should a battery pack last? I've seen a 2017 model on 59k and a 2015 with 11k miles, which would be better? Any idea of the cost to replace a Kia Soul EV 30 KW battery pack? I've pretty much settled with the Kia as Nissan will only lease batt packs @ £48 per month.

Asked on 16 March 2020 by Peter Goddard

Answered by Andrew Brady

Most manufacturers provide a battery warranty of around eight years/100,000 miles. Many are finding that batteries are actually lasting better than expected, so we wouldn't be too concerned about the lifespan of a battery if purchasing an electric car. Other running costs, like regular servicing, are lower and EVs are generally extremely reliable. Out of your shortlist, we'd recommend the 2015 model with low miles, although watch out for things like perished tyres.

Tags: electric cars

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