Lithium batteries have shown to be extremely durable in electric vehicles.

According to Geotab (https://www.geotab.com/uk/press-release/2024-battery-degradation/), EV batteries typically degrade at around 1.8% per year. This would suggest the battery will outlive the car and can then be used as stationary energy storage in a second life before being recycled.

There are several types of hybrid that have varying levels of electrification and therefore the effectiveness of their hybrid system:

Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle (MHEV). This is the most basic form of hybrid. MHEVs are limited in their hybrid operation and can only provide assistance and recoup energy under braking. These vehicles can't run on electricity alone.

Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV). These vehicle have a larger hybrid battery operating at higher voltages and are capable of electric only operation limited to 1-2 miles. These have much stronger motors and can recapture more energy under braking therefore can save more fuel.

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). A vehicle that can be plugged into the grid to replenish the significantly larger hybrid battery. Some PHEVs are now classed as 'Super hybrids' and have an all electric range of over 70 miles.

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV). A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle uses a high pressure tank of hydrogen (10,000psi) which is combined with oxygen in the fuel cell to create electricity. The only by product is water vapour. FCEVs promise long driving ranger and quick refuelling times.

NMC and LFP are both types of Lithium ion battery.

NMC batteries are lighter than LFP for the same energy content and also operate at a slightly higher voltage (3.6V vs. 3.2V). NMC refers to the elements within the cathode of the cell: Nickel, Manganese, Cobalt.

LFP or Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries do not contain any of the rare earth elements of NMC batteries. They have a lower energy density but are more stable than NMC. This gives them much longer cycle life.

Both battery types have different charge/discharge characteristics and also have different factors affecting their degradation.

If the vehicle you’re looking at recommends periodic charging to 100%, that would suggest the vehicle is fitted with an LFP battery. This is due to the very flat charge curve so the battery needs to be fully charge to balance the cells and estimate battery capacity more effectively.

Electric vehicles can charge from any 3 pin socket in an emergency. As long as the voltage and frequency are correct, an EV will charge from anywhere.

Typically though, a charge point will supply 7kW of power. For a 70kWh battery, this would equate to a 10 hour recharge time.

Rapid chargers and Ultra-Rapid chargers are becoming more common and can deliver up to 350kW of power. The vehicle will limit the power to what the specific battery in that vehicle can take. These tend to replenish the battery within 45 minutes (10-80%) allowing for longer journeys.

Some examples of peak charging rates:

Lexus UX300e: 35kW

Hyundai IONIQ 5: 263kW

Tesla Model Y: 250kW

Skoda Elroq: 135kW

How long is a piece of string? The main factors governing how far an EV can go on a charge are the battery capacity (measured in kilowatt-hours) and the efficiency (measured in miles per kilowatt-hour).

For example, a 2020 Hyundai KONA electric had a usable battery capacity of 64 kWh but was capable of a WLTP range of 301 miles.

By comparison, a Jaguar I-Pace is equipped with a 84.7 kWh usable battery pack but is only capable of around 292 miles due to the difference in vehicle efficiency.

This difference in efficiency has knock on effect for running costs as a less energy efficiency vehicle requires more kWh of energy to travel the same distance.

But at the end of the day, with modern EVs, the limitation is not the car but the drivers bladder. The cars can drive/charge/drive as much as necessary but drivers will also need to be mindful of their own exhaustion.