The Department for Transport has issued a statement following calls from three leading electric vehicle organisations for battery health assessments to be incorporated into the MOT process. The organisations – Electrifying.com, New AutoMotive and BatteryIQ – are urging the Labour Party government to force used car dealers to provide independent battery health assessments when selling EVs.
Organisations call for battery health certificates in MOT
The three organisations made their joint call on Monday 24 August, arguing that the current system leaves used EV buyers without clear information about battery condition. They said: “The real problem is not battery health itself, but the lack of clear, independent information available when a vehicle is sold.”
Battery health certificates cost around £30, and the organisations hope they could be incorporated into the MOT process, noting that EVs have fewer moving parts than petrol or diesel vehicles.
Industry leaders back the proposed reform
Ginny Buckley, founder of Electrifying.com, said: “Experts can keep telling car buyers they have nothing to worry about with EV batteries, but our research shows that message simply isn’t landing. It’s not enough to dismiss the concerns about battery life – we need to address them.”
Ben Nelmes, chief executive of New AutoMotive, said the Labour Party government policy under Andy Burnham and his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer has done “a good job” creating a strong supply of second-hand EVs, but “the challenge now is stimulating demand”. He added: “Battery health certificates are a practical, proportionate reform that would strengthen consumer confidence without requiring expensive subsidy schemes.”
Battery health described as key unanswered question
Nick Bailey, founder of BatteryIQ, said battery health is “probably the single biggest unanswered question for used EV buyers, yet it’s also one of the easiest things to measure accurately”.
In response, a Department for Transport spokesperson said: “EV batteries already come with long-term protection, including an eight-year or 100,000-mile warranty required by the Zev (zero emission vehicle) mandate.”
The spokesperson added: “To support even more drivers to make the switch, we are working to introduce new rules to provide clearer and more consistent battery health information.”
