Electric car batteries are usually lithium-ion batteries, similar to the battery in your mobile phone. Electric vehicle batteries can be recharged by connecting them to a power supply and then used to power your car’s electric motor and wheels.

You measure an electric vehicle’s battery capacity in kilowatt-hours (kWh). You might recognise it as the same unit that your home’s electricity meter uses to show you how much you’ve used.

The average capacity for an EV battery is around 40kWh, but you can get some up to 100kWh. Generally, the larger the battery capacity the further your electric car can drive before it needs to recharge.

EV batteries are expected to last around 500,000 miles. Electric car batteries degrade over time as they’re charged, but you can extend your battery’s lifespan.

One of the benefits of electric car batteries is that they can be recycled once they need replacing.

There are three easy ways you can extend your EV’s battery lifespan:

It is possible to repair an EV battery, however there aren’t many companies offering that service in the UK at the moment. Electric car batteries are made up of modules, which can be repaired rather than replacing the whole battery.

The cost of replacing your EV battery can vary depending on the make and model of your car. If you need to replace your battery within the warranty period then your car manufacturer should replace it at no extra cost.

Outside of your warranty you’ll need to talk to your EV’s manufacturer to get a quote for battery replacement.

Inside an EV battery are lots of very rare and expensive metals which means they cost a lot to produce when compared to diesel and petrol car engines. The costs are coming down however it will be a while until EVs become as cheap as petrol equivalents.

They represent the next big leap in electric car battery technology. Solid state batteries will hopefully be able to deliver a lot more range in a smaller package. Solid state batteries use a solid electrolyte rather than the liquid or polymer found in current lithium-ion batteries.