Battery materials company NOVONIX has achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification, an important step as the company scales its Riverside facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for commercial production of synthetic graphite active anode material (AAM).
ISO 9001 is a quality management standard used across global manufacturing supply chains as a benchmark for quality management. The certification demonstrates that the company has implemented a quality management system designed to support commercial-scale manufacturing. The certification complements, but does not replace, customer-specific product qualification requirements.
“Our customers require not only high-performance material, but confidence that we have the systems and discipline necessary to manufacture consistently and reliably at commercial scale,” said Mike O’Kronley, CEO of NOVONIX. “Achieving ISO 9001 certification provides independent certification of the quality infrastructure we have built and reinforces our ability to serve customers as a reliable domestic supplier of high-performance synthetic graphite.”
“ISO 9001 certification reflects the company-wide effort to embed quality into how we operate,” said Meghan Vandelinder, Senior Manager, Quality Control at NOVONIX. “The systems we have established to control our processes, measure performance and continuously improve are essential to meeting our customers’ demanding quality and consistency requirements.”
Synthetic graphite AAM is a critical component of lithium-ion batteries. NOVONIX is scaling domestic production to help establish a more secure North American supply of this critical battery material for energy storage, grid resilience, electric vehicles and industrial applications.
The UK government has been criticized for prioritizing London at the expense of the provinces in the rollout of public EV chargers (among other projects). To address this disparity, the pols established the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, which makes funding available to local authorities throughout England to support kerbside charging projects.
On-street charging specialist char.gy has been awarded no less than 11 LEVI contracts, representing over 60,000 sockets. The company tells us that over 650 LEVI sockets are already live, in Brighton & Hove and Reading. Four more deployments are in delivery, in Brighton & Hove, Devon & Torbay, Reading and West Northamptonshire, and seven more, including projects in the Isle of Wight and Central Bedfordshire, have been awarded.
Alongside its LEVI work, char.gy continues to expand in London, where it recently installed its 6,000th charge point. Installations are under way in Barnet and Enfield.
According to char.gy, over 70 percent of kerbside chargers installed across the country as of the end of 2025 were located in London. On-street chargers made up over 55% of new public charger installations in 2025, and the UK now has just over 122,000 public charge points.
John Lewis, CEO of char.gy, said: “Councils are choosing char.gy because we turn LEVI projects into working charge points at pace and keep them working. 6,000 charge points in, we are installing faster than ever, and the seven further councils we are working with towards signature mean that pace will keep growing.”
As a growing flood of off-lease EVs hits the market, and gas prices are at all-time highs, buyers are eager for used EVs—and prices have risen.
A previously overlooked corner of the EV market is suddenly having its moment in the sun. But the new kid on the block is…used?
New electric vehicles get a lot of attention—given their remarkable advances in 15 years, that’s understandable. But a growing number of drivers are finding that used EVs hit the sweet spot of capability, availability and affordability.
Used EV share of total sales rises
Many people don’t know that two and a half times as many used cars are sold in the US as new cars: 39 million used cars change hands every year vs the typical 15 to 17 million vehicles sold new. As cars last longer—S&P Global Mobility says the average model on US roads is now 12.8 years old—and rising prices make new vehicles unaffordable for more and more households, there’s little shame left to driving a recent car bought used.
More than 600,000 new EVs were leased from 2023 to 2025 to take advantage of the commercial-purchase loophole in the IRA. Their three-year leases are now starting to expire.
But EVs add a new wrinkle to the new-vs-used discussion. New EV sales have leveled out from the lows they hit after incentives ended a year ago—but used EV sales have grown for four quarters as a proportion of all EVs sold in the US.
CEO and Chief Analyst Loren McDonald of Chargenomics quantified the evolution. In the first quarter of 2024, 330,000 EVs were sold. Just 19 percent of those were used. The peak EV sales quarter, Q3 of 2025, when incentives were about to expire, saw a whopping 550,000 sold—20 percent of them used. But from April through June this year, a total of 364,000 EVs were sold—and the used proportion is now up to 32 percent.
Higher gas, more cars, lower prices
Two things came together to boost interest in (and lately the prices of) used EVs. First, more than 600,000 new EVs were leased from 2023 to 2025 to take advantage of the commercial-purchase loophole in the IRA. Their three-year leases are now starting to expire, dumping them back into the resale market. Most have fewer than 30,000 miles; some are below 20,000.
OffLeaseEV.com, a data website run by EV industry insiders, includes data on the number of vehicles entering the market. The number of lease-return EVs doubled from Q1 to Q4 of this year—more than 100,000 fresh off-lease electric cars are expected to hit the market this October through December. A further swell in EV lease returns will come in the third quarter of next year, 2027: nearly 150,000. An even greater swell will hit in 2028, as the last wave of leases from the second and third quarters of 2025 arrives.
Second, the most anti-EV US administration in history launched a war of choice, still ongoing, that has boosted fuel prices 40 percent or more in a matter of months. Drivers feeling the pain in their wallets when filling up likely have at least one friend, neighbor, coworker or relative who points out that it cost them the same amount to “refuel” when plugging in this month as it did in January.
The same depreciation that has been so painful for early EV owners can become a major advantage for the next buyer.
Fuel isn’t the only thing that costs more this year. The lack of affordable new vehicles has been an industry theme for a few years now, and the drumbeat has grown lately. It turns out that used EVs are a spectacular deal, because unfamiliarity among dealers and shoppers made them depreciate more—though that data is skewed because the reductions from government incentives aren’t reflected in the percentages. “The same depreciation that has been so painful for early EV owners can become a major advantage for the next buyer,” said Paul Waatti, Director of Industry Analysis at Autopacific.
People noticed, prices rose
Jimmy Douglas, founder and CEO of Plug, which supplies used EVs to dealers, offered more fine-grained detail in an interview with Charged. He pointed out that used EVs are increasingly being traded in and bought from franchised auto dealers rather than pure used-car outlets or EV specialists. By August, 59 percent of used EV sales went through new-car dealerships, up from 55 percent the month before.
Perhaps most interesting, while active listings for used EVs are steadily increasing (44,000 in August vs 37,000 in July), those EVs sold as fast in August as they did in February—42 days on average, per Cox Automotive—despite a far greater volume of EVs sold (30,879 in February, 44,350 in August, a 44 percent jump).
Perhaps most interesting, while active listings for used EVs are steadily increasing, those EVs sold as fast in August as they did in February—42 days on average, per Cox Automotive—despite a far greater volume of EVs sold, up 44 percent.
Douglas noted some standouts, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E (an average of 20 days to sell) and the now discontinued Ford F-150 Lightning (18 days). The bulk of used EV listings, he acknowledged, remained firmly in the Tesla category. The sheer sales numbers of the Model 3 (since 2017) and the Model Y (since 2020) ensure that they’re the used-car volume leaders by far.
Among other used EV models, Cadillacs do well, he said, as they’re bought by higher-end shoppers who want the premium EVs and are less focused on cost. Volkswagen ID.4s “sell like crazy,” in part because after six model years, earlier versions are inexpensive now. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 are at 21 and 18 days respectively. In fact, his data shows the top 8 used EV models by volume all sell faster now than they did before the Iran War began.
This demand spike has led, Douglas said, to a rise in used EV prices. Data from Cox Automotive shows that, while new EVs still cost roughly $5,000 more than the average price for all vehicles, average used EV prices—which had been trending toward parity—jumped 7.5 percent from February ($34,821) to August ($37,441).
Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Director of Industry Insights at Cox Automotive, discussed the phenomenon in the company’s Q3 2026 Sales Forecast Update Presentation. “Used EV sales continue to grow both sequentially and year over year,” she said.
More detail: “Used EV listing prices [were] up 8.2 percent year over year” compared to a roughly 3-percent rise for ICE vehicles. “That widened the used EV premium from 2.9 percent a year ago to 7.8 percent today. More off-lease EVs are entering the market, expanding the number of used EVs available to consumers, even as pricing remains firm.”
Battery health: no standard measure
Used EV listing prices were up 8.2 percent year over year compared to a roughly 3-percent rise for ICE vehicles.
Still, a major sticking point to buying a used EV remains the concern over battery life. While EV batteries are warranted against outright failure for at least 8 years or 100,000 miles in the US—and some makers warrant that energy capacity will remain at 70 percent or better within a given time or mileage—there’s no universal or standardized measure of battery health.
“Companies like Recurrent now track hundreds of thousands of cars,” said Sam Abuelsamid, VP of Market Research at Telemetry, “and their data shows that even at 100,000 miles, most EVs—except for older, air-cooled Nissan Leafs—still have at least 90 percent of their original battery capacity.”
“With 100,000-mile warranties on batteries,” he added, “buyers should have no concern about that aspect.”
While largely supporting that argument, other analysts added details that could suggest slightly more caution. Robby DeGraff, Manager of Product and Consumer Insights at Autopacific, notes that today, a battery’s state-of-health information isn’t easily available, and often requires plugging into the vehicle’s OBD-II port and downloading specialized software to analyze and interpret the signals.
How the vehicle was charged affects that health: vehicles recharged almost entirely via DC fast charging—those used for ridesharing or driven by owners with no access to overnight home charging—may be more at risk of battery degradation than those charged exclusively at Level 2 stations.
When Congress voted in May 2025 to kill California’s Advanced Clean Cars II program, a requirement in that act that would have helped future used EV buyers died with it. Starting with 2027 models, every EV would have had to display its battery state of health as a simple percentage figure. Every EV also would have had to warrant at least 70 percent remaining capacity after 8 years or 100,000 miles. Neither of those is required of any EV sold in the US today.
“Ultimately, a battery-health score may need to become as fundamental to the used EV transaction as the odometer and vehicle-history report are today,” adds DeGraff’s colleague Waatti.
Cheap new EVs vs cheap used EVs?
Ultimately, a battery-health score may need to become as fundamental to the used EV transaction as the odometer and vehicle-history report are today.
The present flood of off-lease EVs will continue through the first three quarters of 2028, reflecting the period when the EV leasing credit remained in place. So, you’ll likely hear more and more about used EVs, from buying guides to industry analyses.
Even as more affordable new EVs enter the market next year and beyond—think the 2028 Ford Fathom, the 2027 Kia EV3 or the current Chevrolet Bolt—they will face strong competition from heavily depreciated EVs just three to five years old. “Two- and three-year-old EVs are basically like new,” Chargenomics’ McDonald said, “but often carry a discount of $10,000 to $20,000 versus a current year of the same model.”
So, he suggested, “Automakers and dealers not only have to worry about compelling new and affordable EVs from competitors—in many cases their prime competition might be their own EVs coming off leases.” That could hit not just their current lineup but their less expensive entries to come. While some shoppers will only settle for a new vehicle, others may struggle to decide whether a brand-new Ford Fathom really represents a better value than a three-year-old, well-optioned Ford Mustang Mach-E if each stickers at $30,000 to $35,000.
Bright future for used EVs
In July, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation (SB168) that launches a new incentive program for new and used EVs bought by first-time buyers. Used EVs will be eligible for an incentive of $1,750, compared to the $4,000 used EV federal purchase incentive that ended last September 30. For used EVs, there is no income cap for buyers, but eligible used vehicles’ sticker prices are capped at $25,000—except for vehicles made by companies headquartered in California. Among volume EV makers, that is largely restricted to Tesla, Rivian and Lucid.
California leads every other US state in its percentage of new EVs sold—roughly one in four new vehicles sold in the state has a plug. EVs are far more of a known quantity there, the state has mature public charging infrastructure, and it has not let up on its goal of reducing vehicular emissions—one it has pursued since the early 1960s.
In the end, Abuelsamid said, “While used EV prices have crept up since February, they are still a fantastic value compared to new or even used gas vehicles.” He added that he bought a used 2023 model last year. “It’s been great, and my wife never wants to go back to a gas car.”
It’s possible that sentiment may become a refrain among US households previously priced out of new EVs—or unwilling to drop new-car money on such a new technology. Those gas prices don’t look like they’re coming down any time soon—and more EVs come off lease every month.
This article appeared in Issue 77: July-September 2026 – Subscribe now.
ZEV is a nonprofit all-EV carshare cooperative that offers service in the Puget Sound, Seattle, Spokane and Port Townsend areas of Washington State. The company’s mission is “to make EV ownership and access a real possibility for underserved communities.”
The company recently launched its new mobile app, aiming to make signing up, booking and accessing its shared EVs easier. ZEV says its new app offers faster onboarding, a more intuitive interface, expanded booking options, and a more efficient connection between the app and ZEV’s vehicles.
To celebrate the launch, ZEV is offering a low promotional rate for a limited time.
ZEV currently provides sedans (Chevy Bolt), pickup trucks (Rivian R1T) and passenger vans (Ford e-Transit).
“Making clean transportation accessible means making every step easier, from joining ZEV to booking a vehicle and getting on the road,” said Ry Armstrong, Executive Director of ZEV. “Our investment in the new ZEV app reflects our commitment to building a service around the needs of our members. By improving the everyday carsharing experience, we’re strengthening our ability to bring affordable, sustainable mobility to more communities.”
Swedish transport company Einride was an early pioneer in the development of autonomous electric trucks—the company has a cabless autonomous truck that has been running in pilots for several years. However, the company hasn’t put all its electric eggs in the autonomous basket—it operates a large heavy-duty EV charging site in California, and in August it placed an order for 500 Tesla Semis.
Now autonomous trucking is starting to happen. Einride has two of its cabless, driverless electric trucks running scheduled routes with EASE Logistics in Marysville, Ohio. The operations are part of the Truck Automation Corridor Project, a joint effort of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), DriveOhio, and the Indiana Department of Transportation. This is EASE’s third autonomous trucking deployment with DriveOhio.
“EASE believes in leading through action and putting innovation to work in real-world operations,” said Peter Coratola Jr, President and CEO of EASE Logistics. “This deployment builds on that commitment while helping advance the adoption of autonomous freight across the transportation industry.”
Einride’s vehicles are capable of SAE Level 4-autonomous mode, meaning that they operate without a human in the cab—a remote operator monitors each truck off-site and can intervene if needed. The trucks run on local public roads, carrying freight between EASE facilities. The deployment is generating operational data on safety, reliability and efficiency that will inform how autonomous freight scales beyond this initial route.
“This deployment reflects the maturity of our purpose-built autonomous stack, combining driverless operation with remote oversight to run safely in real-world operations,” said Henrik Green, CTO at Einride. “Daily operations in Marysville give us the proof points we need to keep expanding autonomous freight across the corridor and beyond.”
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have assessed how much reconfigurable battery packs could extend EV battery life and reduce lifetime cost. The study, published in Nature Communications, was carried out with PHINIA and Scania.
Battery packs in EVs consist of many interconnected cells that do not age in the same way. In a conventional pack, the weakest cell can therefore set the limit for the entire pack.
Albert Škegro, a doctoral student at Chalmers and the study’s first author, explains the problem by picturing the cells connected by a rope while they all try to move forward. “Since they are bound to each other, everyone has to keep the same pace as the slowest cell and stop when that cell stops,” said Škegro. “With the solution in our study, the battery can instead bypass the cell that is causing problems and continue forward.”
In a reconfigurable pack, switches and control systems can change the connections between the cells. The researchers say that in their models, controlling each cell separately could extend battery life by over 20% in some high-voltage vehicles, such as electric trucks and long-range cars. In practice, groups of cells are more likely to be controlled together, so that figure is a theoretical upper limit.
In one example, the researchers modeled a typical 80 kWh battery in a car driven 12,000 km per year and assumed a conventional pack would be replaced after 10 years. In the model, the reconfigurable pack reached that replacement point after about 11 years, roughly 14 months later. It also had a higher residual value because it had degraded less.
The technology is not yet available in series-produced vehicles but has been tested in research and industrial prototypes. Reconfigurable packs require additional electronics, which raise their upfront cost.
“The results show that the architecture can already be cost-effective under a wide range of real-world usage conditions,” said Changfu Zou, Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers. “Based on a component-level analysis using automotive-grade hardware, the additional hardware would increase the total pack cost by approximately nine percent.”
The front lines of electrification have spread to some seemingly-unlikely parts of the world, for various reasons. In Russia, the country’s war on Ukraine has resulted in major disruptions to the supply of refined oil products, boosting the demand for EVs. And, as elsewhere in the world, it’s mostly Chinese automakers that are meeting that demand.
The New York Times reports that the number of electrified vehicles (including hybrids), sold in Russia grew from 43,000 in the January-to-August period of 2025 to more than 83,000 over the same period this year, according to the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Tthe share of plug-in vehicles (EVs and PHEVs) recently reached 11.5 percent of the Russian car market, up from about 5 percent at the beginning of the year, according to auto research agency Avtostat. The EV market share in Russia is now slightly higher than in the US—but a mere fraction of China’s 45 percent.
Russian auto industry expert Sergei Tselikov told the Times that in July, as Ukrainian drone strikes against oil refineries left drivers across the country waiting for hours at gas stations, he bought a Chinese electric hatchback.
“I tried to fill up one of my cars and drove around to five nearby gas stations, but they had only diesel or lower-grade petrol,” he said.
To try to address the shortages, the government is allowing the sale of lower-grade gasoline and diesel—which are not healthy nourishment for cars. The manager of a Moscow repair shop told the Times that he had recently serviced 15 vehicles with clogged diesel soot filters, a problem caused by the cheap fuel.
Mr, Tselikov is not the only one who has seen the electric light. As the fuel crisis continues, EVs are selling out at dealerships, and online listings for used EVs are scarce.
At a huge dealership complex near Moscow, a manager at Evolute, a brand of Russian-assembled electric vehicles based on Chinese designs, said there was no inventory left on his lot. The complex houses more than 40 dealerships, most of which used to sell brands from the West, Japan and South Korea. When the Times visited, they counted 25 Chinese showrooms.
Lines are starting to appear at public charging stations—but shorter ones than seen at gas stations.
The Russian government has been interested in promoting EVs for over a decade, but actual adoption has been slow until now. EVs are generally exempted from transport tax and in Moscow and other big cities, from parking fees. Russian-made EVs are eligible for government subsidies.
