As more electric vehicles enter the used retail and wholesale market, there is a need to properly diagnose the health of EV batteries.
To meet the potential demand, Cox Automotive Tuesday announced a VIN-specific battery grading system and the pilot of an EV battery health mobile app and bluetooth dongle at 10 of its Manheim locations, including Pennsylvania, Southern California, San Francisco, Riverside, Nevada, Dallas, Phoenix, Seattle, Nashville and Portland.
“We take pride in our EV battery diagnostic tool and grading system, and the benefits it brings the secondary vehicle market ,as an independent third-party standard for EV battery health are unmatched in the industry,” said Lea Malloy, AVP of EV Battery Solutions, Cox Automotive Mobility in a press release. “The battery pack is the single most expensive part of an EV, accounting for 30 to 40 percent of the total cost of the vehicle. With the anticipated influx of used EVs entering the market, our battery health score will help create confidence and transparency at the point of sale.”
“The battery pack is the single most expensive part of an EV, accounting for 30 to 40 percent of the total cost of the vehicle. With the anticipated influx of used EVs entering the market, our battery health score will help create confidence and transparency at the point of sale.”
Lea Malloy, AVP of EV Battery Solutions, Cox Automotive Mobility
In the past year, used EV sales started to pick up the pace.
According to vAuto Available Inventory database, 1.4 percent of all used vehicles listed in 2022 were EVs. It was the first year for EVs to crack 1 percent of the used retail inventory.
More than 28 million used battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are scheduled to enter the car market by 2030.
The Cox battery health tool will measure the current battery condition, historical battery data (times, temperatures and types of charges) and performance, assigning a score of 1 to 5.
“To meet the future growth of EVs at our Manheim locations, we have been investing in an infrastructure to service and support our clients’ future EV battery needs,” said Grace Huang, President of Cox Automotive Inventory Solutions. “Creating a trusted battery health score supports our efforts to build an industry standard for battery health, while delivering the type of vehicle information clients require.”
In more than 1,200 vehicle tests, the average score of EV batteries was 4.6, according to data from Manheim. Prices increased by 1 to 4 percent with a higher battery score. The battery score also was more important than the vehicle mileage.
