Real-time vehicle data to optimize battery life
With an average price estimated by Bloomberg at $151 per kWh in 2022 (source), lithium-ion car batteries remain expensive, despite a drop of nearly 80% since 2013. As a result, the battery can account for up to 50% of the total price of a new electric car, and potentially even more as the vehicle ages. It is therefore no surprise that its condition is closely scrutinized by leasing operators, who are highly sensitive to the issue of residual value.
A degraded battery, or the risk of a dispute after the transaction
Fortunately, a complete battery replacement is rarely necessary and remains the exception. Among a fleet of 15,000 vehicles tracked by the U.S. website Recurrent, only 1.5% have had their batteries replaced during their lifetime (source). Nevertheless, a battery’s capacity gradually degrades over its lifetime, depending on how the user charges and discharges it. This raises a crucial question when it comes time to resell the vehicle: how should the potential discrepancy between the vehicle’s range as stated in its technical specifications and its actual range be handled? Can a dealer take the risk of having to deal with a dispute involving a dissatisfied buyer?
This is why it is necessary to measure a battery’s State of Health (SoH) before it is put back on the market, so that buyers can be given a range estimate that accurately reflects reality. To do this, the manufacturer can perform a precise, paid diagnostic test. However, various companies also offer tools or devices that plug into the vehicle’s OBD port. After a full charge followed by normal use of the vehicle until it is nearly fully discharged within a given timeframe, the service provider can collect and analyzethe datatransmitted by the device to estimate the battery’s condition and maximum remaining range. As one might expect, for a dealer, this multi-day analysis process seems hardly compatible with the demands of the used-car business, which relies on rapid inventory turnover and process optimization. And even so, once the battery’s loss of efficiency has been measured, the dealer has no choice but to lower the resale price, thereby realizing a loss in residual value and margin. But conversely, shouldn’t we be focusing on prevention rather than cure?
Prevention is better than cure
In fact, preserving battery capacity must remain a key priority throughout the entire lease term, not just when the vehicle is returned. It’s important to note that battery performance is largely determined bythe driver’s usage habits, with many factors that can degrade it. Among these is excessive use when the charge level is above 80% or below 20%. According to the website chargemap.org, it is indeed recommended to keep the charge level within the 20–80% range as often as possible . Overuse of fast charging should also be avoided, as it stimulates the battery cells too aggressively. Finally, batteries do not respond well to temperature fluctuations: chargemap.org advises parking your vehicle in a covered shelter and activating battery preheating before charging and before starting the vehicle in cold weather.
These guidelines must be followed by the driver throughout the duration of the lease agreement to ensure the battery’s performance is maintained as effectively as possible. The lessor must ensure that these instructions are properly followed. To do so, they needcontinuous, real-time accessto the vehicle’s technical data. Indeed, most new cars come equipped with anonboard telematics system designed to transmit technical information to the manufacturer at high frequency. Manufacturers make this data available to vehicle owners for a fee, which allows leasing operators to collect the raw data so they can then harmonize, reprocess, and analyze it. But this tedious work of collection and processing—especially when it involves several different manufacturers—remains far from the core business of leasing companies.
Echoes, a neutral server and data provider
This is whereEchoes, a manufacturer-independent platform, offers a valuable solution that meets the evolving needs of leasing companies. By gathering vehicle technical data from all manufacturers, Echoes is able to collect and standardize all this information so it can be displayed consistently across its dedicatedCarlocateandCarfleet interfaces. Leasing operators can thus access, in real time and through a single tool, all the critical information needed to manage their vehicles on the road: location, mileage, battery charge level, mechanical alerts, accident alerts, and more.
Better yet:for electric vehicles, Echoesalso collects data on each charging session, including power output, duration, and the amount of energy charged. This makes it possible to generate weekly or monthly charging reports for each vehicle. It’s then a simple matter to analyze this report, identify any poor charging habits, and contact customers to discuss their charging practices and educate them on best practices to extend their battery life.
Ultimately, as the electrification of the vehicle fleet progresses, both fleet operators and rental companies will have every interest in implementing charging policies to raise user awareness of best practices in this area. In this regard, real-time vehicle data monitoring becomes essential, both to help define realistic charging policies and to ensure their proper implementation.