Anyone who follows electric vehicles understands there is an active, if not robust, used electric vehicle market. Battery health is top of mind for many potential buyers because no one wants to buy a used EV to find out the battery needs to be replaced or requires repairs. Similarly, no one wants to get a vehicle and wind up having hassles and struggles. We all want a smooth buying and driving experience — as in, no distressing surprises. On that topic, Marcus Berger, CEO of AVILOO, answered some questions about the company’s used EV battery warranty for CleanTechnica. What does it mean to be the first financially backed battery warranty for used electric vehicles in the UK? Until now, used EV buyers had no independent, objective way to know whether the battery they were buying would hold up – and no financial recourse if it didn’t. Manufacturer-reported health figures are neither verified nor standardised. The AVILOO Battery Warranty is the first product to change that: a contractual, insurance-backed commitment that if a battery degrades beyond its individually calculated threshold within 12 months or 20,000km, the owner receives £2,700 in compensation. It transforms an independent battery diagnosis from a snapshot into a guarantee. Why is it needed, and what are the benefits? The battery is the most valuable component in any electric vehicle, yet it’s the one thing buyers can’t assess at the point of purchase. The used EV market is growing fast, but trust hasn’t kept pace. For dealers, the warranty is a credible, independently underwritten selling point that costs them nothing to offer. For buyers, it’s a concrete financial backstop – not a vague assurance. For the market as a whole, it creates the trust infrastructure that used EV adoption actually needs. What is the cost and is it a single cost or recurring? The Battery Warranty Basic is completely free of charge to the end customer. It is issued automatically alongside a chargeable AVILOO FLASH Test, which dealers and remarketing platforms arrange through AVILOO Connect. There is no subscription, no recurring fee, and no hidden cost for the buyer. Paid upgrade tiers – Warranty Plus and Warranty Premium – are planned for a later stage. Who is it for? The warranty is designed for anyone buying a used electric vehicle, but it reaches them through professional partners: used car dealers, fleet operators, auction platforms, and remarketing companies. These B2B partners run the AVILOO FLASH Test as part of their sales or handover process and issue the warranty automatically via AVILOO Connect. The financial benefit and protection belong entirely to the end customer – and transfers to a new owner if the vehicle changes hands again. Is there a large used EV market in the UK? Significantly and growing. The UK was one of Europe’s earliest mass-market EV adopters, which means a substantial volume of vehicles from the first major adoption wave are now entering their second and third ownership cycles. Fleet and lease returns are accelerating that pipeline further. It’s one of the reasons we prioritised the UK as a launch market – the volume is there, the consumer appetite is real, and the need for trust infrastructure is urgent. Why should people in the market for a used EV trust the warranty? In general, about how long are batteries in UK EVs lasting? The AVILOO FLASH Test is the only independent EV battery diagnostic on the market – not a readout from the car’s own system but a genuine measurement of real capacity, thermal management, and charging capability against original factory specs. It is TÜV and CARA certified, and it already underpins battery testing for Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Porsche Holding dealerships across Europe. On longevity: most EV batteries are performing well beyond early expectations – data from AVILOO’s database, the largest in the world, shows most batteries retaining strong health well into their second ownership cycle. The risk of sudden dramatic degradation is low, but it exists – and that’s precisely the scenario this warranty is designed to protect against.
