PC Magazine cites a study done in March by Recurrent, a Seattle-based company that analyzes used electric car batteries, which analyzed real-world telematics data from 15,000 EVs of various makes and models, taking daily readings of their actual charging activity, battery percentage, and estimated range. Their results? Electric vehicles typically come with a standard battery warranty, between eight and 12 years, plus a certain number of miles. Recurrent found that most drivers were not replacing their batteries even after those warranties expired. The oldest models in the study have the highest percentage of battery replacements, at about 5% for those that have been on the road for nine to 12 years, according to the graph below. Twelve years is the current average lifespan for gas-powered cars in the US, according to Progressive.

This suggests a battery replacement could come at a natural time to consider buying a new vehicle or replacing the battery on the current one, not as an unfortunate surprise just a few years into ownership... "Almost all of the batteries we've ever made are still in cars, and we've been selling electric cars for 12 years," says Nic Thomas, marketing director for Nissan.