• The vast majority of electric vehicles are holding on to their original range even after years of driving, according to a new report.
• Even after three to five years, the range retention on modern battery-powered cars is impressive.
• Automakers have started including buffers to minimize perceived degradation.

Electric vehicles are holding on to their range far better than many buyers expect, and now fresh data from more than a billion miles of real-world driving is backing that up in a new way. In addition to constantly improving battery technology, automakers are also using software to keep the driving range more consistent over a period of time.

EV analytics firm Recurrent said in a report on Thursday that most EVs on the market lose very little usable range in their first several years on the road. The average EV now retains 97% of its range after three years of ownership and 95% after five years on the road. Put simply, an EV with 300 miles of range when new should still deliver 291 miles after three years and 285 miles after five, according to Recurrent.

Photo by: Patrick George

Range anxiety has long been one of the biggest barriers for EV buyers, even though there’s now a robust number of EVs on sale today across segments with at least 300 miles of EPA range. Many new EVs in premium segments are pushing over 400 and even 500 miles of range. However, it’s not always about how far a car can go when new. The other question is what happens after a few years of ownership. 

That’s where the new data helps cut through the noise. Strong range retention can support resale values, make used EVs less risky, and give buyers more confidence that they are not settling for something subpar compared to combustion vehicles. 

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Recurrent used historical data to come to this conclusion. About 68% of model year 2023 EVs are still exceeding their EPA range today, the firm said. However, it is using a slightly different metric called Expected Range, derived from real-world driving data that factors in things like climate, driving conditions, and battery age. It also projected that a model year 2026 EV with 325 miles of range, for example, will still deliver 301 miles of range in 2031.

According to the report, EV brands with no significant range loss after five years of ownership include Cadillac, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Rivian. 

There are a bunch of reasons why this is happening. Automakers are able to minimize range loss over the years by releasing reserve battery capacity and tuning range algorithms with over-the-air software updates as the vehicles age, Recurrent said. Many include a “buffer” of unused cell capacity early on, which allows the car to automatically unlock that capacity later on to erase the effects of degradation.

Photo by: Lucid Motors

But that’s not it. Automakers and battery companies have been laser-focused on improving the underlying battery tech. Batteries now get a higher energy density, translating to more miles from a similar-sized pack. Things like a cell-to-pack design reduces weight, so more of the car’s floor can store energy. Add to that sophisticated thermal management systems, aerodynamic improvements, and the gains are happening without needing dramatically bigger packs or different chemistries.

In fact, InsideEVs’ own analysis projects that the U.S. will have over 60 EVs with over 300 miles of range by the end of this year, up from 43 last year and 35 the year before. Of course, driving range largely varies across models and segments and continues to be impacted by the weather, driving styles, and road conditions. But with the U.S. public charging infrastructure also growing quickly, range anxiety is increasingly becoming a problem of the past. 

Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com

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A SURVEY conducted by Polestar in Australia has found that EV owners can save nearly $100 per month on fuel compared to internal combustion vehicle drivers and that most motorists do not take journeys long enough to warrant genuine range anxiety concerns based on the average WLTP range of its model line-up.

 

Data was collected from 1015 Australian motorists via an online survey between 22 December 2025 and 20 January 2026. This included 810 ICE vehicle owners and 205 EV owners.

 

Crucially, Polestar noted in a media release that the survey took place prior to recent fuel price spikes caused by conflict in the Middle East.

 

The survey found that 62 per cent of EV owners are spending under $100 per month on recharging their vehicles, with a median monthly recharging cost of $60.

 

Meanwhile, petrol, diesel, and hybrid vehicle owners had a median monthly refuelling cost of $150.

 

Following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, these savings are likely to be even more significant, with national average retail petrol prices sitting at 240.1 cents per litre as of 5 April compared to 171 cents per litre on 22 February, according to data from the Australian Institute of Petroleum.

 

The data also revealed that 84 per cent of motorists drive up to 300km per week, with a median driving distance of 158km per week. The longest journey taken by most respondents within the previous year (72 per cent) was under 500km.

 

For reference, the average WLTP driving range of Polestar’s Australian model line-up is 605km. The shortest quoted WLTP range for any Polestar model offered locally is the Polestar 5 Performance at 558km while its standard Dual motor sibling is the portfolio range-leader at 678km.

 

Of course, not all Australian EV owners enjoy driving distances in-excess of 550km.

 

The BYD Atto 1 Essential model – the cheapest battery electric vehicle offered locally with a price tag of $23,990 before on-road costs – has a WLTP driving range of 220km. However, this is still significantly further than the 158km weekly median driving distance and 73.3 per cent of 300km weekly driving distance of most respondents.

 

“High oil prices are not the problem; they are the reality of a volatile system. Electric cars change that. The cost base is lower, more stable and increasingly local,” said Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller.

 

“What used to be range anxiety is quickly becoming pump anxiety. People are moving away from unpredictable fuel costs to predictable electricity.”

 

Polestar will soon offer even greater choice for consumers looking to make the switch away from internal combustion power into an electric vehicle.

 

Earlier this year, Polestar announced a four-model expansion of its global portfolio within three years, with these new vehicles also slated for Australia.

 

These models include the Polestar 5 sedan, a new Polestar 4 SUV variant, the second-generation Polestar 2 liftback, and the yet-to-be-unveiled Polestar 7 compact SUV.

 

Australian deliveries of the Polestar 5 are expected to commence later this year, followed by the new Polestar 4 variant and the second-gen Polestar 2 in 2027, and the Polestar 7 in 2028.

 

• An all-electric Lexus IS sedan is reportedly coming sometime in 2027 to rival the BMW i3 and Mercedes C-Class EV.
• The new IS EV will grow by three inches and feature radical styling and a super low-drag body.
• This new rumor fits in with an older report claiming Lexus had pushed the launch of two new EVs to mid-2027.

Lexus is reportedly working on a radically redesigned IS sedan that will ditch combustion in favor of a pure-electric powertrain with big performance numbers and massive range. The most powerful variant will apparently have around 500 horsepower and it has a range target of 620 miles (1,000 km) on a single charge—this could indicate it’s getting a solid-state battery.

Nothing’s official right now, but Japan’s Best Car has been right before and it makes sense for Lexus to launch a performance electric sedan in the near future. It’s a segment that will soon be populated with models from rival automakers—the BMW i3 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class EQ—and it’s in Lexus’ DNA to try to compete with the Germans.

The report doesn’t go into too much detail, and it rehashes some bits of information we already knew, but it does mention the new electric IS will look a lot more futuristic than the new ES sedan—available with combustion and pure electric power—and will be around 3 inches longer than the current IS. It is said to feature giga-cast structural pieces, dual-motor all-wheel drive and be a full software-defined vehicle with over-the-air update capability.

We could see this new IS debut sometime in 2027, though without official confirmation, there’s also a chance we won’t. An older report from Australia’s Car Expert, published in December 2024, announced (citing unnamed insider sources) that Lexus had pushed back the launch of new EVs from 2026 to mid-2027, which aligns with the timeline presented in the Japanese report.

One of the delayed models was the production version of the highly aerodynamic LF-ZC concept, which fits the bill as being the next IS in terms of size and electric-only powertrain. Lexus is reportedly targeting a drag coefficient of under 0.20 Cd, which would make it among the most aerodynamic production cars, most of which are electric sedans.

If the new electric IS materializes as described in these reports, it will likely be pitched as a global model, one that could also reach the U.S. market as a larger and fancier alternative to the upcoming Toyota Corolla, which will also be reborn as a futuristic sedan with electric power and global ambitions.

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