Almost nine out of 10 drivers want an independent, certified assessment of the battery’s health when buying an electric car, new research reveals.

The study, carried out by Startline Motor Finance for its monthly Used Car Tracker, 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.

Furthermore, 83% would like an indication of how much capacity it is likely to lose in the future, 81% the amount lost since the car was new and 78% how much charge it can currently hold.

The study chimes with separate research this month by Startline that found nine out of 10 dealers (90%) say the used electric car sector needs an industry-wide scheme for battery health tests.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “As the motor industry is learning more and more about the long-term reliability of electric cars, it’s becoming clear that battery failure and even rapid decline in battery capacity are rare occurrences. However, when things do go wrong, it can be very expensive.

“Our data shows this message has reached consumers and there is a very strong desire to find out as much as possible about the battery of any car they are considering buying – and for this check to have a high degree of credibility. No-one wants to run the risk of having to pay a bill running into many thousands of pounds for battery repair or replacement.”

Labour’s pre-election manifesto pledged to introduce a standardised battery health check but such a scheme is still yet to arrive.

Burgess went on: “Of course, credible companies offering battery health check services are already present in the UK but we don’t have a formal, industry-wide scheme of the type seen in some European countries. That leaves a credibility gap and is certainly something that would help inspire confidence in the used electric car market.”

He added that interestingly, all of the new responses on battery health checks were within 3% of when the same questions were asked in the Startline Used Car Tracker a year ago.

“Sentiment has barely moved at all, according to our data, which suggests this is something that car buyers very much want. The market should be moving faster to meet that need.”

The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled monthly for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research. This time, 300 consumers and 60 dealers were questioned.