One of the concerns about switching to electric vehicles has traditionally been that drive batteries will deplete over time and this will greatly reduce vehicle performance and value. However, a recent test by German roadside assistance company ADAC has shown that batteries are depleting far less than first thought. 

A Volkswagen ID3 was put on a test to replicate 4 years worth of driving, equating to 160,000 km. At the end of the simulation the battery was tested and found to have retained 91% of its capacity.  

The test involved the use of rapid chargers, and leaving the vehicle uncharged for several days to replicate real world conditions.  

ADAC also concluded that against a claimed range of 520 km, the real world range was closer to 400 km or 300 in very cold conditions. 

The ADAC test was carried out at the Test and Technology Centre in Landsberg am Lech in Germany.  At the end of the test the high-voltage battery still had a net capacity of 91%. Currently Volkswagen guarantees that the battery of the ID.3 still has at least 70 per cent of its original net capacity after eight years of operation or 160,000 kilometres of driving.