VW ID.3 Battery Pack Analysis Shows How Peculiar Electric Cars Can Be - autoevolution

A recent Battery Life video caused some controversy after Christian Stadler stated his VW ID.3 may have lost around 9% of battery capacity in only one year and 22,644 kilometers (14,070 miles) of use. The Youtuber made a follow-up video to discuss how accurate his measurements were, and what the video presented allows us to discuss the peculiarities of owning an electric car.

In his first video, Stadler came to the conclusion that he had lost 9% of charging capacity. Instead of the 63.48 kWh he had one year ago, when he just picked up Walter (his Volkswagen ID.3), the Youtuber now has 57.7 kWh in his EV. After disclosing these numbers, he mentioned that he had abused his ID.3 by charging it too often to 100% with fast chargers.

People who are not familiar with EVs may think that this is absurd, but it is actually a recommendation from multiple manufacturers that use battery packs with ternary cells for their EVs. The NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) or NCA (nickel cobalt aluminum) cells are known not to like to be charged to their full capacity. That would speed up range loss. Fast charging also harms battery packs in the long run.

Another sort of lithium-ion chemistry prefers to be charged to 100%: LFP (lithium iron phosphate). These cells are currently being used in more affordable versions of EVs because they are cheaper and also more robust. Their downside is that they are heavier due to presenting a lower energy density.

If Stadler’s ID.3 had LFP cells, charging it to...

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