Electric vehicle batteries: Ford Mach-E data shows 92% health after five years

Ford has published battery data from about 36,000 of its 2021 Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles, showing that the packs kept an average of 92% of their usable capacity after about five years of ownership, reports on Monday, 9 November 2026 said. Among a small group of more than 30 cars that had covered over 200,000 miles, average battery health was 88%. The findings add to a growing body of real-world data suggesting electric vehicle batteries are ageing more slowly than many buyers fear.

Battery life is one of the biggest worries for people thinking of buying an electric vehicle, new or used. The battery is the most expensive part of the car, and as it ages it holds less energy, which means a shorter driving range. "Battery health" is the share of the original usable capacity a pack still holds: a car at 92% health that once drove 400 km on a full charge would now manage roughly 368 km in the same conditions.

Ford's numbers come from a large fleet of ordinary cars rather than a laboratory test, and they point the same way as an independent study published in September by Aviloo, a battery-testing company, which analysed more than 500,000 battery tests and found most electric cars still held around 90% of their capacity after 150,000 km. Aviloo's own test of a Mach-E showed 92.5% after 150,000 km, in line with Ford's data. These are still a carmaker's figures about its own product, and one model's results do not apply to every battery chemistry or climate.

The data also show that mileage matters less than many assume. Cars with more than 100,000 miles averaged better than 91%, only slightly below the fleet average. For used-car buyers, that suggests checking a battery health report is more useful than judging a car by its odometer alone.

For Indian buyers weighing an electric car, large real-world datasets like this are useful evidence. Similar data from carmakers selling in India, in Indian heat and driving conditions, would help buyers judge how long batteries last here.

Peepals calculation: An average loss of 8 percentage points (100 − 92) over about 5.2 years works out to roughly 1.5 points a year (8 ÷ 5.2 ≈ 1.54). The high-mileage group lost 12 points (100 − 88) over more than 200,000 miles, about 0.6 points for every 10,000 miles. Spread over about 36,000 cars, the roughly 2 billion miles in the dataset come to about 55,600 miles per car (2,000,000,000 ÷ 36,000 ≈ 55,556). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: Owners and buyers of used 2021 Mach-Es have a clearer picture of how their batteries have held up, which may support resale values.

Long-term: As more carmakers and independent testers publish fleet-wide battery data, buyers can compare models on battery durability, and the fear of a costly battery replacement may weigh less on decisions to buy an electric vehicle.

Who is affected: Electric vehicle owners and buyers, used-car dealers and lenders who value EVs, carmakers competing on battery durability, and policymakers encouraging the switch to electric vehicles.

Questions and Answers