PHEV battery warning as testing reveals higher rate of problems
Australian EV battery testing expert says plug-in hybrids have more issuesThe News
Plug-in hybrid owners and used-car buyers are being warned to pay close attention to battery health because Australian testing indicates PHEVs are disproportionately represented among electrified vehicles suffering battery problems.
The Key Details
- Battery health tester Test EV has found about two per cent of the thousands of BEVs and PHEVs tested have registered a battery fault
- Founder Nathan Gore-Brown says PHEVs represent a disproportionate number of those failures
- Smaller PHEV batteries can undergo more frequent and intensive cycling than larger BEV batteries
- Battery size relative to electric motor output can also increase stress
The Finer Details
Test EV founder Nathan Gore-Brown says PHEVs make up a “reasonably high” proportion of the approximately two per cent of battery tests conducted by the company’s Australian network that identify a fault.
“My own personal opinion is don’t drive a PHEV, but that’s just because I’m an EV guy,” Gore-Brown told carsales.
Test EV distributes Austrian company Aviloo’s independent EV battery diagnostic equipment in Australia and New Zealand, with the technology used by dealers, auction houses, workshops and pre-purchase inspection services, including carsales-owned RedBook Inspect.
Gore-Brown said the findings across thousands of tests suggest PHEV batteries are presenting problems more frequently than batteries in full battery-electric vehicles.
“Of all the vehicles that we have failing, PHEVs are failing more often than their BEV counterparts,” he said. “It would be a trend, yes. Starting to head that direction.”
Gore-Brown stressed the two per cent figure covers both BEVs and PHEVs and did not provide carsales with a separate failure rate for plug-in hybrids.
The issue is potentially significant as Australian PHEV sales have surged 124.2 per cent year-on-year, driven predominantly by a rapidly expanding range of Chinese plug-in models.
Gore-Brown said one potential issue is the relatively small battery fitted to many PHEVs compared with the amount of power demanded from it.
While a modern BEV might have a 60kWh or larger battery pack, many PHEVs use batteries in the 15-25kWh range while still powering relatively potent electric motors.
That can mean more frequent charge and discharge cycles and relatively high battery loads.
There is also enormous variation in how PHEVs are used, from owners who rarely plug them in to those who charge regularly and attempt to complete most of their driving electrically.
Gore-Brown conceded PHEVs are a solution for buyers of large SUVs and utes who want to get out of diesel but do not yet have a suitable battery-electric alternative.
His advice is to consider what is actually required from the vehicle rather than assuming a PHEV automatically provides the best of both worlds.
“There is plenty of feedback from years of PHEVs in the market that they need to be charged regularly to get the best out of the battery and fuel economy,” Gore-Brown said.
“So many PHEVs don’t get charged often, leading to battery issues and poorer fuel economy than a good diesel.”
The Road Ahead
The findings do not mean buyers should automatically avoid a PHEV, nor does the Test EV data establish that PHEV batteries generally have short lives.
But Gore-Brown says battery condition should become an increasingly important consideration when buying a used plug-in hybrid, just as it is for a used BEV.
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