There are two ways to read this question: how long before you need to recharge, and how long before the battery wears out entirely. Here’s the answer to both.
How long does a charge last?
The range you get on a full charge depends on the car and the battery size. In Australia, most EVs currently available offer between 300km and 650km of WLTP-rated range. Real-world range is typically 10–20% lower, particularly in cold weather or at highway speeds.
For context:
- BYD Dolphin (44.9kWh): ~340km WLTP
- Tesla Model 3 Long Range (75kWh): ~629km WLTP
- Hyundai Ioniq 6 (77.4kWh): up to 614km WLTP (2WD)
- MG4 Excite 64 (64kWh): ~435km WLTP
For most Australian driving — commuting, school runs, weekend errands — even a modest 300km range covers a week of driving on one charge.
How long before the battery needs replacing?
This is a long time. EV batteries are built to outlast the car in most cases.
Almost every EV sold in Australia is covered by an 8-year / 160,000km battery warranty guaranteeing at least 70% of original capacity. If the battery degrades below that threshold within the warranty period, the manufacturer replaces it.
Real-world data from high-mileage EVs — particularly Teslas and Nissan Leafs with 300,000+ km on the clock — shows batteries typically retain 80–85% capacity even at very high mileage. The degradation curve is steepest in the first year, then flattens significantly.
What actually degrades a battery
Charge cycles are the primary factor — every time you charge from near-empty to full counts as one cycle. Most manufacturers rate their batteries for 1,500–2,000 full cycles before dipping below 80% capacity.
Other factors that accelerate degradation:
- Regularly charging to 100% (most owners charge to 80–90% for daily use)
- Frequent DC fast charging (fine occasionally, but daily fast charging adds heat stress)
- Storing the car for extended periods at very high or very low charge
- Hot climates — battery management systems in modern EVs mitigate this, but it’s still a factor
What happens when a battery does eventually wear out?
Outside warranty, battery replacement costs $15,000–30,000+ depending on the model and capacity. That sounds significant, but by the time a battery genuinely needs replacing — if ever — the car will have hundreds of thousands of kilometres on it. Second-life battery repurposing for home energy storage is also a growing industry that may change the economics further.
For most buyers purchasing a new EV in Australia today, battery replacement is unlikely to be a real cost within the car’s usable life.
