• 87% would back an assessment that shows how well previous electric car owners have looked after the battery
• 83% want to know how long it takes to fully charge and 82% how much capacity has been lost since new, shows new Startline Used Car Tracker

Also, 83% want to know how long the battery will take to fully charge, 82% the amount of capacity it has lost since new, 81% how much capacity it is likely to lose in the future and 79% how much charge it currently holds, shows August’s Startline Used Car Tracker.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “Probably the number one fear that consumers have when buying an electric used car is that the battery will fail or otherwise degrade very quickly. They know that it could cost several thousand pounds to buy a replacement and the value of their car plummet.

“In real world conditions, these worries are largely proving to be unfounded. There are now millions of electric cars on roads across the world and battery degradation is generally happening much more slowly than anticipated while outright battery failure, while not unknown, remains a rare occurrence.

“However, used car buyers clearly want reassurance and some form of formal testing that showed the battery of the vehicle they are considering buying has been well-looked-after, with a good idea of how it was likely to perform in the future, is probably the best available solution in this area.”

He added that one of the promises made in the new Labour government’s manifesto was the introduction of a standardised battery health check.

“In our view, this would be a very good idea. Having a government-backed and approved battery test that provided the information consumers want would be a very real boost for the used electric car market, especially if it was backed by some form of warranty.”

The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled monthly for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research, well-known in the motor industry for their business intelligence reporting and customer experience programs. This time, 321 consumers and 62 dealers were questioned.