Battery degradation has long been one of the reasons new car buyers have held out on purchasing an EV. However, data from a new study reveal that the top-performing EVs lose less than 5 percent of their range after 93,205 miles (150,000 km) of driving, meaning battery packs will easily last the average life of most new cars.

The study, published by Aviloo, has been labeled the largest independent study of used EV batteries ever conducted. More than 500,000 battery tests have been published, and the results show how 20 of the industry’s most popular EVs perform.

Read: A Seven-Year-Old Tesla Model 3 Survived 380,000 Miles, Its Range Did Not

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 performed best after 31,068 miles (50,000 km) of testing, retaining 97.1 percent of its original usable capacity. Other strong performers after 31,068 miles included the Mercedes-Benz CLA at 96.6 percent, the Hyundai Kona EV at 96.3 percent, the Audi Q8 e-tron with 95.7 percent, the BMW i4 with 95.6 percent, and both the Volvo XC40 Recharge and VW ID.4 at 95.2 percent battery retention.

After 93,205 miles of driving, the Mercedes-Benz CLA came out on top with a battery health of 94 percent. This placed it ahead of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (93.6 percent), Hyundai Kona EV (93 percent), Volvo XC40 Recharge (92.8 percent), Ford Mustang Mach-E (92.5 percent), and the Polestar 2, also at 92.5 percent.

Teslas Disappoint

Several popular EVs did not perform as well as the competition. Most notable was the Tesla Model Y, which retained just 90.3 percent of its battery capacity after 93,205 miles, and the Tesla Model 3, which retained 88.9 percent of its battery capacity. Other poor performers included the Renault Zoe (87.3 percent), Mini Cooper SE (87.1 percent), and Nissan Leaf (86.7 percent), all of which have relatively small batteries.

Importantly, the results of this study don’t mean every Mercedes-Benz CLA will have 94 percent battery health after 93,205 miles, or every Peugeot e-208 will have 90.7 percent battery health. The study examined the median across all vehicles and found that good and bad examples of the same car can have battery health ratings that vary by as much as 13.5 percent. Nevertheless, the study demonstrates just how good current EV batteries are.

Cheap to buy and cheap to own are two different things, and the gap between them is where most new car shoppers get caught out. If you’re shopping in the US and want something that costs almost nothing to keep on the road, there’s one clear winner: the Fiat 500e. Yes, the pint-sized three-door electric hatchback that virtually nobody is buying happens to be the cheapest new car in America to live with.

Fiat moved 150 of them in the first half of the year, down 81 percent from the 788 it managed over the same stretch in 2025, a figure that was hardly worth celebrating in the first place.

A recent study from Self.Inc set out to determine the average running costs of 50 popular new cars sold across the country. We’re not sure how these 50 were selected, but the results show that the 500e has annual running costs of just $3,557, easily beating the next-most-affordable option, the Honda Civic Hybrid, with average annual costs of $4,833.

Read: Dealers Can’t Move The 500e At $15,000 Off. Fiat’s Response Is A $5,200 Price Hike

A key reason for the 500e’s affordability is its efficiency. The car is small and, on average, costs $779 to charge. Average annual insurance at $779 is also well below the industry average, and annual maintenance of $1,275 is also low. Annual fees and taxes of $724 are higher than some of the competition, but that’s not enough to outdo the other savings.

Average Running Costs By Brand

Sources: Self

Positioned in a surprising third place was the Hyundai Elantra N with average annual running costs of $4,904. We’re not sure how the Elantra N made the list, as opposed to the standard Elantra, particularly given it can use quite a lot of fuel when driven as most N owners drive. Nonetheless, the average maintenance cost is low at just $1,278, which helps.

Other affordable cars to run in the US include the Nissan Versa at $4,949 in annual costs, the Toyota Camry Hybrid at $5,031, the Honda Accord HEV at $5,047, and the gas-powered Honda Civic at $5,062. Included in the affordable options are also the Mini Cooper, Kia K4, and Mazda3.

What About The Most Expensive?

At the other end of the spectrum are some very expensive cars to run. The Porsche 911 was listed as the most expensive car to run, with average annual costs of $10,832, positioning it ahead of the Audi RS7 at $10,334, the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing at $10,265, the Chevrolet Corvette at $10,213, and the Lucid Air at $10,049, primarily due to high insurance fees for the luxurious electric sedan.

Compared to the last time the study was conducted in 2024, average annual fuel costs have fallen from $2,246 to $1,727. While this is good news for car buyers, annual insurance costs have jumped from $1,763 to $2,219, and annual maintenance costs are also up from $1,633 to $1,817. Annual fees and taxes have also increased from $820 to $1,151.

The study also sheds light on differences in ownership costs among EVs, gas-powered vehicles, and hybrids. After analyzing each of the 50 models, hybrids came out on top with average annual running costs of $5,734, less than the $6,189 for EVs, primarily due to cheaper insurance, fees, and taxes. Gas-powered vehicles came last, with an average cost of $7,025.

Top 20 Least-Expensive New Cars To Run In The US

Top 20 Most Expensive New Cars To Run In The US

Source: Self. Inc

Well, there’s no way that this information will be controversial at all. A new study out of MIT appears to completely crush the claim that EVs simply move pollution from the tailpipe to a smokestack. The analysis tackled the variables usually missing from that argument, like where drivers live, what powers their grid, what they drive, how far they travel, and even the weather. 

Its conclusion isn’t that EVs are perfect. It’s that battery-electric vehicles beat comparable gas cars on lifecycle emissions across the U.S., including where electricity still comes heavily from fossil fuels.

Published in Environmental Research Letters, the MIT-led research first reported by InsideEVs found that EVs cut emissions by 40 to 60 percent in most locations. That’s not cherry-picking statistics either. The researchers considered vehicle and battery manufacturing, fuel and electricity production, regional grids, local temperatures, vehicle types, and how people actually drive. Re-read that maybe, because that’s an abundance of variables and considerations.

Read: Should Fossil Fuel Ads Be Banned Like Tobacco

The reason is pretty simple. Internal-combustion engines waste an enormous amount of the fuel they burn as heat. EVs lose energy too, including at the power plant and during transmission, but electric motors are so much more efficient that they retain a massive advantage even after those losses are counted. A dirty grid narrows the gap. It doesn’t magically erase it.

What The Study Doesn’t Claim

Before the angry comments come in, though, it’s worth being clear about what this study does and doesn’t say. It is a lifecycle greenhouse-gas analysis, so battery production is already in the equation. But it doesn’t claim EVs have no environmental cost, nor does it settle every issue people may cram under the word “green.”

Mining, water use, local air pollution, labor practices, battery recycling, and grid reliability all deserve their own scrutiny. Like every model, its results also depend on assumptions about battery life, manufacturing, charging behavior, and future electricity mixes. Those details can affect the size of an EV’s advantage from place to place.

Still, the core finding holds. Even with the country’s most carbon-intensive electricity mix, the researchers found battery EVs do not increase lifecycle emissions compared to combustion vehicles. That’s a remarkably direct answer to the smokestack argument.

The Grid Only Gets Cleaner

And the picture should keep improving. The EIA says wind and solar accounted for a record 19 percent of U.S. electricity generation in 2025. Every cleaner kilowatt-hour makes the EV already in your driveway cleaner to run. A gas car gets no such upgrade. It just keeps burning gas. You can prefer an ICE car. That’s fine. Plenty of us do. But pretending a fossil-fueled grid turns an EV into a gas car isn’t skepticism. At this point, it’s simply ignoring the evidence.

Automakers recently waved the white flag and decided to adopt the North American Charging Standard popularized by Tesla. On top of that, they signed up to gain access to the company’s massive Supercharger Network, which consists of more than 80,000 chargers globally.

While Tesla is the gold standard, they’re not the best. That’s according to a new study, which examined the user experience at various charging stations.

More: Tesla’s V4 Set The Bar At 500 kW, ChargePoint Just Made It Look Slow

Conducted by JD Power, the U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study found Ionna provided the best experience. The firm – which is backed by numerous automakers including BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes, Stellantis and Toyota – operates a handful of “Rechargeries” across the country.

Despite coming out on top, Ionna has big gaps as there are zero stations in Michigan and only one in New York. However, the company inked a deal with Circle K earlier this year, which will see more than 350 gas stations outfitted with Rechargeries.

Second place went to the Mercedes-Benz Charging Network, which has a handful of locations mostly in the south and on the east coast. The final podium position was taken by the Rivian Adventure Network, which is “planned to grow to more than 3,500 fast chargers at over 600 sites across the US and Canada.”

Tesla came in fourth place, which is pretty surprising. Of course, McDonalds also has a lot of locations and you certainly wouldn’t say they have the best hamburger in America.

Rounding out the list is Red E, Electrify America, EVgo, and ChargePoint. As you’ve probably noticed, consumers clearly prefer automaker-back charging networks over ones from private companies.

EV Charging Experience Largely Improves

While the rankings are surprising, the study found satisfaction with DC fast chargers improved. The overall score climbed 12 points to 666 out of 1,000, and JD Power said all ten attributes improved. The biggest gains were charger availability (+27), how safe customers feel at charging locations (+18), and charging cost (+18).

The good news didn’t end there as EV drivers are being greeted by fewer broken chargers. According to the study, the “industry non-charge visit rate” dropped to an all-time low of 12%. That’s down from 14% last quarter and JD Power said the newer OEM-backed networks had the “lowest failure rates.”

It wasn’t all good news as satisfaction with slower, Level 2 public chargers dropped 12 points from a year ago. This was largely due to problems related to “ease of payment and ease of charging.” Drivers were also underwhelmed by DC fast chargers located at dealerships and stand-alone parking lots or garages.

JD Power’s executive director of EV solutions, Brent Gruber, said “The public charging experience is becoming more consistent, and that’s critical as the EV market matures.” He added “data consistently shows that public charging is the top reason new-vehicle shoppers reject EVs,” so these improvements “go a long way toward supporting the infrastructure needed to meet the rise in forecasted EV sales in the coming years.”

Every year we’re told the next breakthrough in battery technology will finally make EVs more affordable. Quietly, that’s already started happening… at least on the manufacturing side. According to a new study out of Germany, global battery costs have fallen by roughly 35 percent in real terms since 2020. Yet if you’ve been shopping for an EV lately, you’ve probably noticed they haven’t become dramatically cheaper. In fact, the median advertised price actually went up. Here’s why.

Read: Used Hybrid And EV Prices Have Jumped $3,600 Even After The Tax Credit Died

Researchers from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) analyzed more than 100,000 passenger car configurations sold in Germany between 2020 and 2025. When comparing equivalent models and adjusting for inflation, vehicle weight, power output, battery capacity, and electric range, they found battery electric vehicle prices fell by about 18 percent in real terms over the five-year period. Yes, prices fell by almost one-fifth. At the same time, internal combustion vehicles became roughly 2 percent more expensive.

The study attributes much of that price drop to falling battery costs. What’s particularly interesting is the gap between the roughly 35 percent decline in battery prices and the 18 percent reduction in vehicle prices. Researchers say manufacturers appear to have used some of those savings to increase driving range, improve vehicle specifications, or offset research and development costs instead of cutting sticker prices even further.

Why The Median Price Climbed

On top of that, the overall market tells us an even more interesting story. The study confirms that individual EV models became cheaper while the median advertised price across the entire German market actually went up, growing from around €38,000 ($44,000) in 2020 to €54,000 ($62,000) in 2025.

That’s largely because the number of available EV models exploded from 38 to 159 during the study period, with much of that growth coming from larger, more expensive vehicles in the lower-medium, medium and upper-medium segments. Buyers shopping for smaller, more affordable EVs still have relatively few choices, with mini and small cars accounting for just 14 percent of all BEV models on sale.

It’s worth noting that the findings reflect the German market rather than the United States, where incentives, taxes and consumer preferences differ considerably. Even so, the report highlights an important reality for anyone expecting dramatically cheaper EVs. Falling battery costs don’t automatically translate into lower sticker prices. Sometimes they become longer range, more equipment, or simply more expensive vehicles.

For the past few years, buying a used EV has been a waiting game, with would-be buyers often waiting for prices to fall a little further. That strategy may no longer be paying off. Used electric vehicle prices are climbing rapidly while the rest of the used car market continues to drift in the opposite direction, making dream cars like the Porsche 911 more affordable.

New data from iSeeCars suggests the turnaround isn’t a one-month anomaly, either. Used EV prices have now posted three straight months of year-over-year gains, moving from a 2.7 percent increase in April to 5.2 percent in May before reaching 7.4 percent in June.

Related: This Is How Much A 17K-Mile EV From A Dead Brand Sells For After 3 Years

That pushed the average price of a one- to five-year-old used EV to $33,305 in June. Compared with the same month last year, that’s an increase of $2,308. Meanwhile, the average used vehicle price fell by 1.3 percent year over year, highlighting just how differently the EV segment is behaving.

Rising fuel costs may have helped trigger the shift, iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer logically suggests. Gasoline prices rose sharply during the Iran conflict earlier this year, but it took several weeks before buyers adjusted their shopping habits and begin gravitating back toward EVs.

Average 1-5 YO EV Prices

Tesla was the biggest beneficiary of the trend. All four of the brand’s core models landed among the 10 used vehicles with the largest year-over-year price increases. The Model X led the entire market, jumping 17.5 percent to an average price of $60,950.

The Model 3 wasn’t far behind with a 13.5 percent increase, while the Model S climbed 13.1 percent and the Model Y gained 12.0 percent. “Tesla makes up nearly half of the top 10 used models with the highest price increase,” Brauer noted.

Perhaps just as telling is what didn’t appear in the rankings. Not a single EV showed up among the 20 used vehicles with the steepest price declines. Instead, that list was populated by a mix of luxury vehicles, pickups, SUVs, hybrids, and conventional gasoline-powered models. The Lincoln Corsair posted the biggest percentage value drop (-14.7 %), but the Porsche 911 was right behind it (-10.6 %), and reminds us that there’s a silver lining to every cloud.

Used Cars With The Biggest Price Increases

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Used Cars With The Biggest Price Drops

iSeeCars

A new study has revealed that Americans are feeling adventurous this summer, eager to get away from civilization and enjoy some off-roading. Of those surveyed, the overwhelming majority would take a combustion-powered vehicle over an EV.

Read: Jeep’s Next EV Could Be Made In China Instead Of Ohio After Stellantis Deal

Hankook Tire’s latest Gauge Index survey found that 64 percent of respondents are interested in taking an all-terrain or off-road driving adventure this year. That’s a huge jump from the 34 percent who expressed interest in doing the same last year.

But, as is often the case with studies like these, there’s more than meets the eye. Last year’s survey asked a different question. The 34 percent figure didn’t measure people planning an off-road adventure at all; it counted respondents who named “off-roading proficiency” as the top recreational driving skill they wanted to learn.

74 percent of Gen Z and 72 percent of Millennials want to take an off-road trip this year. However, it’s not just younger folk who want to make the most out of summer, as 57 percent of Gen X drivers and 42 percent of Baby Boomers want to do the same.

ICEs Rule Over EVs

The study also sheds light on what types of vehicles motorists think are best for these trips. 52 percent believe an SUV is best, while 36 percent would go with a pickup truck. Unsurprisingly, most people still favor combustion engines over EVs, with 79 percent preferring a gas-powered SUV over an electric one, while 87 percent of pickup drivers would take an ICE model over an EV.

It appears most of those interested in an off-road experience want something tame, rather than climbing over rocks at Moab. As such, 45 percent said they plan to take a trip along wooded trails while just 17 percent would prefer exploring a desert.

Of course, it’s worth noting that this study, just like so many others you read about, only polled a small group of people. In fact, Hankook quizzed just 1,000 randomly selected American drivers aged 18 and older. So, if you’re someone who has no interest in off-roading, you can rest easy knowing millions of others feel the same.

If you’re shopping for a used EV, chances are the health and longevity of the high-voltage battery, the big slab of cells under the floor, is the thing keeping you awake at night. But according to a new analysis of warranty repair requests, it’s far from the problem owners encounter most often.

The study, based on repair request data collected by Warrantywise in the UK, found that the biggest EV reliability headaches are largely the same kinds of issues drivers have dealt with for years on cars running more conventional combustion powertrains. Electrical gremlins, suspension wear, and even the humble 12-volt battery appear far more frequently than failures involving the high-voltage battery pack.

Leading the list were general electrical faults, including sensors and central locking systems. Those repairs averaged around £810-900 ($1,085-1,205), although some individual claims climbed well beyond £3,000 ($4,020) and even topped £4,000 ($5,350) depending on the fault.

Also: An American EV Was Germany’s Most Defective Vehicle

Suspension components, particularly wishbones, also featured prominently. Average repair requests exceeded £1,200 ($1,600), with the largest individual claim passing £4,100 ($5,490). That’s a reminder that even without an engine or gearbox, an EV still has plenty of conventional hardware that wears over time – and with more weight to bear, suspension takes an even bigger beating in an EV.

Top 5 EV Faults

The only genuinely EV specific component to crack the top five was the on-board charger. While the average repair request for one of those came in at £2,160 ($2,890), the largest single claim reached a hefty £10,455 ($14,000), showing that although these failures aren’t everyday occurrences, they can become scarily expensive.

Battery Problems Overblown

What about the high-voltage traction battery everyone worries about? It didn’t make the top five at all. That doesn’t mean battery failures never happen, only that they were comparatively rare in the warranty data, quite possibly because EV batteries are more robust than many people think, and they tend to have longer factory warranty cover than the rest of the car. When problems did occur, though, repair requests averaged more than £6,400 ($8,570).

The figures also showed average EV repair request values increased by 10.7 percent between 2024 and 2025. That rise isn’t necessarily down to worsening reliability, with inflation, labour costs, and parts prices all likely contributing to higher bills.

Also: Huge Study Shows EVs More Reliable Than ICE Cars With One Surprising Common Issue

As with any warranty dataset, the results only reflect vehicles covered under those policies rather than every EV on the road. Even so, it points to the expensive battery that dominates so many buying conversations as not being the scary bill-in-waiting it’s made out to be.