Automakers have changed their advice on EV charging. For most electric cars with lithium-ion batteries, you shouldn’t charge to 100% every day.
That goes double for lithium-ion EVs with NMC or NCA packs. Those batteries tend to hold up better when they live somewhere around 20% to 80%, or in some cases 90% if the carmaker says that’s fine. Once you’re charging from 80% to 100%, cell voltage climbs, and over time that usually means more capacity loss. Letting the battery fall below 20% can stress it too.
A full charge still has its place. If you’re heading out on a road trip, the extra range helps, especially at highway speeds, in cold weather, in traffic, on detours, or when the next charger is busy. LFP cars are the exception here. Some automakers actually want those batteries charged to 100% every week , or even every day, so the battery management system can keep the range estimate calibrated properly. That’s why two cars from the same brand can come with different instructions. Tesla and Ford both say as much in their charging guidance.
If you drive an EV every day, this matters. Geotab looked at data from 22,700 EVs and found average battery degradation of 2.3% per year. It also tied frequent DC fast charging above 100 kW to 3.0%. Recurrent’s 2024 study, which covered 13,000 Tesla vehicles, found no significant difference, probably because Tesla’s thermal management does a better job controlling battery temperature.
The right charging limit for your exact model and battery type should be in your carmaker’s app or the owner’s manual.
Author: Chema Carvajal Sarabia
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