A Canadian study has found that regularly charging electric cars at speeds of 100kW or more leads to a 24% loss of battery capacity over eight years.
The researchers analysed the health of 22,700 electric cars comprising 21 different models, and found that while drivers who infrequently use ultra-rapid charging would over eight years lose just 12% of their battery capacities compared to when the car was new, cell degradation was doubled by those who frequently made use of faster sockets.
Geotab, which conducted the study, found that drivers who used 100kW electricity in less than 12% of recharging sessions experienced an average loss of battery capacity of 1.5% a year.
Those who used ultra-rapid chargers between 12% and 40% of the time saw a 2.2% annual drop in capacity, while those who plugged into 100kW+ sockets more than 40% of the time experienced a 3% annual loss.
The findings will be of particular interest to drivers who are reliant on public facilities due to a lack of at home charging, while used buyers, and those who buy new EVs rather than leasing them for a number of years, are also likely to be more sensitive to such issues.
