Take care when advertising EVs

The VIA's latest announcement reminds all dealers that when selling an electric vehicle (EV), the “State of Health” is by far the most accurate way of measuring battery condition. The bar display on the vehicle is only an indicator, and should not be promoted in advertising - a print-out of the battery's State of Health should be used instead.

In a recent case, a dealer advertised a Nissan Leaf showing a photo of the battery condition indicator with 12 bars, but made no other mention of battery condition.  The buyer found he couldn’t travel the distance he expected, and rejected the vehicle. A check showed that the battery health was significantly lower than would be expected with 12 bars. The Tribunal found that the photo of the indicator, which the buyer had relied on, was misleading, and upheld the rejection. For any questions on this or any issues relating to EVs, please contact VIA Technical Manager Malcolm Yorston on 0800 VIA VIA (842 842) or email technical@via.org.nz.