CAP calls for benchmark battery test

Benchmark testing of battery capacity should be established to boost confidence in the new breed of electric commercial vehicles when they reach the used market.

The call comes from Ken Brown, Valuation Manager for CAP Red Book, the industry’s independent benchmark guide to used commercial vehicle trade values.

Benchmark battery testing is essential, according to Brown, due to the natural reduction in charge-holding capacity over a battery’s lifespan.

Because there is currently no way for second owners to know how much charge a battery will retain there is downward pressure on residual values as potential buyers seek to minimise their risk.

This in turn creates difficulty for forecasters in determining future residual values to create transparency on risk for finance providers and contract hire operators.

Brown likens the problem to that of a conventional fuel gauge registering full, when the tank may be half empty.

He said: “Imagine you’ve just bought a used diesel engined van at auction which has a standard 50 litre fuel tank. On the way back from the auction you call into a filling station and fill it up. It takes only a couple of litres to fill it to the brim and for the fuel gauge to read full.

“You drive off the forecourt with a smile on your face. You were happy with the price you paid for the van and on top of that you’ve got almost a full tank of fuel as well.

“Fifty miles later your van stops as you run out of fuel and you are surprised to learn that, despite its normal appearance, the fuel tank actually only holds only 10 litres.

“This is exactly what might happen to you if you buy a previously-owned battery powered electric vehicle. The instrumentation might say it’s fully charged - but how big is the tank?

“The problem is compounded by the fact that replacement batteries can cost several times what you paid for the van in the first place”.

Now Brown is calling for an independently verified method of determining true battery capacity at disposal time to create confidence for funders and buyers in used markets.

He said: “This would also enable us to set more accurate residual values which would help manufacturers, leasing companies and traders in the used markets alike.

“We are receiving an increasing number of requests for residual values from contract hire and leasing companies for battery powered electric vehicles. Clearly these ultra-clean vehicles have an important role to play as emissions increasingly dominate the taxation agenda and cities introduce measures to control CO2 and other emissions with bans and tolls.

“Establishing a benchmark is essential to creating confidence in this area of the market. Realistically, nobody would expect a five year old battery to have 100% of its original capacity. But if it can be established that the norm is, say, 85% then that could form the basis of CAP’s standard condition criteria for electrically powered vehicles.”