ACCURATE battery state-of-health testing for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) could help dealers reduce potential Australian Consumer Law (ACL) exposure.  It can also deliver faster used-vehicle stock turn and more accurate trade-in and used-car valuations.

This is the message from the Australasian distributor for battery diagnostic specialist Aviloo.

While headline battery degradation data increasingly shows that the battery packs in BEVs and PHEVs are ageing more slowly than once feared, average figures can conceal a wide spread of poor performers that are difficult to identify without testing individual vehicles when they are presented as trade-ins, potential used stock, or service department diagnoses.

The data draws on Australian and New Zealand test data from Aviloo diagnostic equipment used by major auction houses including Manheim and Pickles, together with a growing number of dealer service departments, aftermarket repairers, and independent battery specialists.

Test EV founder Nathan Gore-Brown

Test EV founder Nathan Gore-Brown told GoAuto News Premium there is a significant “spread” in results that could help determine a vehicle’s true value while also speeding fault diagnosis.

Test EV is the Australian and New Zealand distributor for Vienna-based Aviloo.

Mr Gore-Brown said the company had developed a hardware and software ecosystem designed to independently verify and correct a vehicle’s own battery readings, for which no global testing standard has yet been established and which can produce optimistic or overly simplistic results.

He cited the example of a common non-Chinese model sold to both fleet and private buyers in Australasia that recorded an average battery state of health of between 95 and 96 per cent at 50,000km.

Aviloo testing, however, showed individual vehicles varied by as much as eight to 10 percentage points either side of that average.

“People talk about averages, and those averages are great. But what it doesn’t talk to is the spread,” said Mr Gore-Brown.On another well-known model with test samples extending beyond 250,000km battery packs at approximately 100,000km ranged from 97 per cent down to around 85 per cent, with the strongest performers being vehicles that had received replacement batteries under warranty.

Mr Gore-Brown said such testing could confirm, enhance or significantly reduce a vehicle’s market value.

In one case, a pre-purchase inspection on a six-year-old vehicle with 100,000km returned a battery state-of-health result around 10 percentage points higher than would normally be expected for its age and mileage.

“The customer has an absolute cracker (of a battery) and the thing probably should have been worth five grand more,” he said.

“The dealer’s lost out on value.”

Beyond BEVs, Mr Gore-Brown said local Test EV data on a popular plug-in hybrid model showed almost half the vehicles tested returned a battery state of health below 70 per cent – the level at which warranties are typically triggered – with variation of more than 30 percentage points between vehicles with similar odometer readings.

Aviloo does not yet provide battery testing for vehicles without a plug.

Mr Gore-Brown said this reflected both the nature of the European market, where the Austrian company established itself, and the relatively low replacement cost of smaller, less complex hybrid battery packs.Test EV is therefore exploring solutions for the large number of conventional hybrid vehicles already operating across Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Gore-Brown pointed out that not every used BEV or PHEV arrives through an auction lane carrying a battery state-of-health certificate, nor is there sufficient certified auction volume to satisfy retail demand.

“Not every EV going into a dealership is coming via an auction,” he said, adding that some dealer customers sourced vehicles entirely through trade-ins, private sellers, and wholesale channels.

He suggested that trade-in and wholesale transactions, where dealers commit to a valuation on the spot without a battery certificate while the customer or seller is standing in front of them, represented the greatest area of risk.

Among auction houses, testing practices vary.

Mr Gore-Brown said Pickles tests every EV that passes through its auction lanes, with vendors and buyers able to opt in to displaying the battery certificate. Most choose to do so, meaning the majority of EVs listed by Pickles include battery state-of-health results.

Manheim tests a smaller proportion of vehicles, while other auction operators are still determining their long-term approach.

As Aviloo’s Australasian distributor, Test EV supplies and supports auction houses, dealerships and independent repairers, while also operating a public battery-testing network of approximately 40 outlets using more than 120 diagnostic devices nationwide.Mr Gore-Brown said the most advanced dealers test every vehicle before purchase, identifying issues early and carrying the certificate through to retail sale.

Others conduct testing when vehicles are prepared for sale, publishing the results alongside online listings in much the same way as auction houses. A third group tests only when requested by a customer or to address objections during the sales process.

According to Mr Gore-Brown, the second approach is producing faster sales from fewer customer enquiries.

Test EV cites one dealership that reduced the average number of leads required to sell an EV from 5.6 to 1.8 – a reduction of 68 per cent – while vehicles advertised with battery state-of-health certificates have reportedly achieved stocking times between 33 and 50 per cent shorter.

In one case, according to Test EV, a vehicle that had remained in stock for more than 80 days sold within four days of its online listing being updated to include a battery certificate.

Local results broadly mirror Aviloo research conducted across eight European markets, where the company says a battery certificate can add between €500 ($A815) and €1000 ($A1630) to the value of a used EV, representing a return of approximately five to 10 times the cost of the test. Mr Gore-Brown also pointed to Pickles data showing improved clearance rates, fewer passed-in vehicles and higher sale prices for tested EVs compared with untested examples, outcomes he said broadly reflected the European experience.

He described battery health as a quantifiable risk that could instead become a valuable sales advantage.

“If you’re forward with that and providing the customer clarity, (it) can reduce the number of leads required and reduce the number of days in sale and possibly increase the margin, as we see in Europe,” he added.

“It’s switching a negative into a positive.”

Because dealers must be able to substantiate any claims they make about a vehicle, Test EV believes battery condition statements that cannot be independently verified may expose retailers to potential ACL action.

Mr Gore-Brown suggested that the greater risk for Australian dealers lies with ACL compliance rather than any future move towards mandatory battery roadworthiness testing, something he does not expect Australia to introduce in the near term, even as Aviloo develops a roadworthiness-specific product for other markets.

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