[ksa8907]

So the discussion on EV's always leads to battery degradation and most if not all EV naysayers use it as the punchline to why EV's are alleged terrible vehicles. But what about combustion engine efficiency degradation?

If an EV gets 238 miles per charge and loses 1% battery capacity every 8 thousand miles, as I have read in another thread, over a 5 year life that vehicle will be reduced to 214 miles of range. Is that any different than a standard non-electrified vehicle losing engine performance and efficiency as it ages?

For instance, a 2008 Cadillac CTS that rated 17/20/26 with an 18 gallon tank would have a max range of 360 miles in mixed driving. Is it normal to expect that over a 5 year life, 80k miles using 16k/yr, that vehicle will now only achieve 324 miles and 18mpg in mixed driving? I would not be surprised by that.

So why is it we have an immediate shock when we realize an EV loses range and battery capacity as it ages?


*For these calculations I have assumed linear degradation.