Ayvens Carmarket, Ayvens’ car remarketing trading platform, is introducing state-of-health (SoH) certificates for its used battery electric vehicles in Europe to help build buyer trust and confidence.

The certificate shows the battery’s current capacity as a percentage of its original capacity. It offers transparent and reliable information about a battery’s health, along with determining actual driving range.

Since the battery is the most valuable part of an EV, its condition plays a key role in determining the vehicle’s resale value.

A recent study carried out in the UK found 88% of buyers said an independent, certified assessment of the battery’s health was important to them, while 83% want to know how long it is likely to take to fully charge now.

Ayvens Carmarket’s battery diagnostics are provided through accredited companies, certified by the European Car Remarketing Association (CARA). These diagnostics rely on reading the SoH value directly from the battery management system (BMS) which continuously monitors key parameters such as voltage, temperature, charging history and current usable capacity to accurately determine the battery SoH.

To date, SoH certificates are available for used electric vehicles on sale in Ayvens Carmarket’s used car showrooms and websites in the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands. SoH certification will be rolled out in most of the remaining European countries in the coming months.

Despite initial concerns about battery longevity, data shows that modern EV batteries hold up better than expected. Research carried out by Geotab last year found EV batteries degrade, on average, by 1.8% per year and should now last 20 years or more on average.

But the used car market still suffers from misconceptions, mainly due to the lack of transparency around battery health, which represents one of the main barriers to EV adoption.

Frédéric Van Heems, group remarketing business line director at Ayvens, said: “Battery performance is a key concern for customers considering the purchase of a used EV. With this SoH certification, Ayvens offers more transparency and helps clients to buy with confidence, while supporting a growing second-hand EV market and the transition to electric mobility.

“The second-hand market is a crucial pillar of the circular economy which helps extend vehicle lifetimes, reduce waste and prepare for the mass adoption of electric vehicles, while contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions.”