Battery degradation isn’t solely due to mistakes when charging an electric car: this driving habit can be even worse.

09/09/2026 10:00

Updated to

09/09/2026 10:00

The battery is one of the key factors determining the lifespan of an electric vehicle, though its wear and tear isn’t solely due to time passing. Organizations such as the U.S. Department of Energy emphasize that its condition is influenced by charging and discharging cycles as well as usage conditions, factors that include temperature and driving style.

In this context, a study conducted by researchers from Shanghai Dianji University and published on August 14, 2026, in Scientific Reports focused on a very specific factor: driving style. The overall conclusion was that more aggressive driving patterns are associated with significantly faster battery aging compared to a more moderate and efficient driving style.

The difference appears when the battery operates under stress

The study relied on real data collected in 2022 from 15 electric vehicles traveling through urban, suburban, and highway routes in Guangzhou, China. The cars recorded variables such as speed, current, voltage, temperature, and charge level every ten seconds, and the researchers then grouped this information into 60-second intervals to classify driving patterns into five distinct levels.

The most striking figure comes from the long-term simulation

By applying those usage patterns to a degradation model, the authors estimated that after 1,000 cycles, capacity loss would be 21.15% under the most efficient driving style and 53.22% under the most aggressive one. The study also included a counterfactual analysis to isolate the effect of driving behavior, and in that scenario, switching from an aggressive pattern to an efficient one reduced the short-term stress indicator by 91.3%.

Nevertheless, the study itself requires an important clarification. Those percentages do not come from a physical inspection after tracking the 15 analyzed cars for 1,000 cycles, but from a prediction made using a model fed with real data. Additionally, the sample size is small, and battery aging also depends on other factors such as cell chemistry, thermal management, charging habits, or typical charge levels.

The practical implications of this study are quite clear anyway. Not all heavy usage patterns affect batteries in the same way, and driving fast does not necessarily mean driving aggressively. What this research links to increased wear is repeated spikes in electrical demand, so a more steady and less abrupt driving style can help reduce the strain on the system without requiring constant low speeds.