How many kilometres does an electric car’s battery actually last?

18.06.2026

Many motorists are put off buying a second-hand electric car for fear of having to replace the battery soon. Today, we want to clarify whether this fear is really justified.
To this end, you’ll find a sample calculation below that realistically demonstrates how many kilometres a modern lithium battery in a mid-range car can realistically cover. It’s often overlooked that modern electric car batteries sometimes last well beyond the typical lifespan of a vehicle and are wrongly regarded as a weak point.

The following calculation shows exactly what this means in terms of mileage:

• Annual degradation rate: On average, modern electric car batteries lose approximately 2.3% of their capacity per year.
• Time taken to reach 70% SOH (State of Health): Statistically speaking, it takes around 13 years to lose 30% of capacity (30% / 2.3% per year ≈ 13.04 years).
• Initial range at 100% SOH: 400 km, final range at 70% SOH: 280 km
• Average range per cycle: (400 km + 280 km) / 2 = 340 km
• Result: With average usage and normal charging behaviour, the 70% SOH threshold is reached after approximately 340,000 km (1,000 cycles * 340 km).

In practice, however, it is possible to achieve significantly more than 340,000 km. The following factors have a particularly positive effect on a battery’s range:

• Gentle charging: Using lower charging power (AC charging or DC <100 kW) reduces the annual degradation rate from 2.3% to just around 1.5%.
• Mild climate: Continuous operation in mild temperature zones minimises the thermal stress on the cells and significantly extends their service life.

Electric car batteries are therefore already significantly better than their reputation suggests.

Although batteries for electric cars are not part of our product range, charging behaviour and correct storage are essential for the longevity of all other battery cells too. Batteries have been our passion for over 35 years, and our expertise is our strength.

Take advantage of this – we’d be happy to advise you.

You can find all our contact details here on the website at https://www.battery-kutter.de/en/company/our-team

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