How much capacity does an electric vehicle’s battery lose every year? It’s an important question if you’re considering an EV and weighing out its long-term dependability. A new study indicates that battery longevity isn’t necessarily increasing, and it goes hand-in-hand with technology newer EVs have introduced.
Geotab is a research firm that gathers data on EV tech and charging habits every year. When it conducted its first inquiry into battery longevity in 2020, it determined that the average EV’s battery pack loses 2.3% of its initial capacity every year. Ultimately, that results in an EV with just over 80% of its initial max range estimate—let’s say, 280 miles if it initially offered 350 on a full charge—after eight years.
When the firm returned to the study in 2023, it determined that average annual degradation had decreased to 1.8%, which was encouraging. Unfortunately, its latest data from 2025 indicates that the industry average has bumped back up to 2.3%. What’s going on?
The problem is that even though automakers and battery suppliers have figured out ways to improve pack longevity through better thermal management and new chemistries, that’s being offset by the increased prevalence of DC fast charging (DCFC). And nothing cooks an EV battery faster than rapid charging it at every opportunity.
Within this, there are a few more wrinkles to consider. Geotab has found that larger and heavier EVs exhibit quicker degradation than smaller and lighter ones. Additionally, degradation is accelerated earlier in a vehicle’s lifespan—plotted on a graph, it’s more of a curve than a diagonal downward line.
Vehicles were broken up by a number of variables, including DCFC frequency. “Vehicles where DCFC constituted less than 12% of total charging sessions experienced an average annual degradation of 1.5%,” per the study. By contrast, vehicles that exceeded 12% showed an annual decrease in capacity of 2.5%.
Climates were also accounted for, as was what Geotab termed “state-of-charge exposure.” That’s basically how much time the vehicle in question spent with its battery charged over 80%—a condition that accelerates battery aging. The degradation exhibited by those high SoC subjects would definitely convince me to use that charge limit feature most modern EVs have now.
Overall, this study is worth checking out if you’re curious about the current EV landscape and how advancing tech and shifting consumer sensibilities are solving some problems while introducing new ones. Going forward, as transformative breakthroughs like solid-state batteries enter the fray, it will be interesting to see how the takeaways from studies like these change.
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Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.
