Battery Health Report with Recurrent

What is the value of a used electric car? Would you buy a used EV? What about the battery?

Or the other way around, how can you best treat your EV and keep your EV battery happy to maximize the resale value of your car?

Well, it all starts with gathering data. When I bought my first EV in February I immediately signed up with Recurrent, a NA startup in the battery data analytics area.

What does Recurrent do with your Battery Data?

• You can sign up for Recurrent for free. 
• They get your vehicle data through the OEM (car maker) API –  in my case Ford.  
• They track your battery data and send you a report every month.  
• The report contains statistical information about your EV and battery and also compares your EV to other similar EVs on the market. 

Electric Range of the Mustang Mach-E

The first part of the report provides insights into your current range depending on outside temperature and climate control use. The EPA certified range of my Mustang is 270 miles. As you can see there is a sweet spot around 79 deg F which is 26 deg C. For lower and higher temperatures, the range reduces mainly due to climate use but also due to battery cooling/heating and lower performance.   

State of Charge (SOC) Distribution

This is one of my favorite plots. It shows you at which SOC (State of Charge) levels you have used your electric vehicle. As you might now, state-of the art lithium-ion batteries like the LG Pouch Cell with NMC cathode chemistry in the Mach-E, neither like to be fully charged nor do they like to be completely empty due to aging effects.  

This is the reason you should operate your EV battery in the indicated green window between 30 and 80% SOC. As you can see, I have had my EV battery mostly in this area. Only when I go on road trips am I using the full available range. When I am home with my daily driving I never charge more than up to 80%.  

If you want to know more about battery chemistry, please watch this video.

How long does my EV Battery last?

One of the most important parameters in a battery electric vehicle is the State of Health. It reflects how the electric range drops over time due to aging. Recurrent also compares the range of your electric vehicle to the range of other similar ones. As you can see my Mach-E is in the upper area. It’s 3 months old – it should be!  

Recurrent even provides trends in the market for your car, such as minimum and maximum price every month. 

Take a look at the whole report here.