A new analysis of nearly 10,000 real-world EV battery tests found that the same Tesla Model 3 holds up very differently depending on which battery it was built with — and the cheaper LFP version comes out on top.
The Model 3 with CATL’s lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack averaged 93.3% battery health among cars that had driven more than 62,000 miles, beating every nickel-based version of the car in the dataset.
The same Model 3, four different results
The data comes from Carla, a Swedish used-EV retailer that analyzed 9,954 battery tests conducted in Sweden between 2022 and 2026 using AVILOO’s battery diagnostics, which measure a pack’s actual state of health rather than the car’s dashboard estimate.
When Carla broke the Tesla Model 3 down by battery, the spread was striking:
| Tesla Model 3 battery | Chemistry | Avg. battery health past 62,000 mi (%) |
|---|---|---|
| CATL | LFP | 93.3 |
| LG Chem | NMC (nickel) | 91.5 |
| Panasonic 77.8 kWh | NCA (nickel) | 89.8 |
| Panasonic 52.4 kWh | NCA (nickel) | 88.2 |
That’s a five-point gap between the best and worst versions of the same car. The LFP pack held the most capacity, while the two nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) packs from Panasonic — the chemistry Tesla long treated as its premium option — degraded the most.
It’s a counterintuitive result for buyers who assume the more expensive, higher-density nickel chemistry is also the more durable one. On long-term capacity retention, the data points the other way.
Why LFP holds up better
It has long been thought that despite their lower price and lower energy density, LFP batteries lead in longevity compared to their more expensive alternatives. Now we have a direct apples-to-apples comparison to prove it in a Model 3.
LFP batteries trade energy density for durability. They’re cheaper and heavier per kWh, but their chemistry is more thermally stable and tolerates a full 100% charge far better than nickel-based cells, which Tesla recommends charging to only 80-90% for daily use.
That daily-charging difference compounds over tens of thousands of miles. The finding lines up with a Tesla-funded study and multiple independent teardowns that have repeatedly found LFP chemistry ages more gracefully than nickel-based cells over high mileage.
It also reframes how Tesla’s shift to LFP should be read. The company moved its Standard Range Model 3 and Model Y to LFP packs primarily to cut cost and free up scarce nickel — but this data suggests owners got a longevity benefit in the bargain.
Kia and Hyundai top the overall ranking
The Model 3 chemistry breakdown sits inside a broader ranking of the 20 models with the highest average battery health among cars past 62,000 miles. The Kia e-Niro and Hyundai Kona — mechanical twins sharing the same 64 kWh pack — led the field at over 97%.
| # | Model | Avg. battery health past 62,000 mi (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kia e-Niro – 64 kWh | 97.25 |
| 2 | Hyundai Kona – 64 kWh | 97.18 |
| 3 | Kia EV6 – 77.4 kWh | 95.95 |
| 4 | Volvo XC40 Recharge – 69 kWh (CATL) | 94.70 |
| 5 | Polestar 2 – 78 kWh (CATL) | 94.35 |
| 6 | BMW i3 – 120 Ah | 93.77 |
| 7 | Polestar 2 – 78 kWh (LG Chem) | 93.53 |
| 8 | Tesla Model 3 – 60.5 kWh (CATL LFP) | 93.34 |
| 9 | Audi e-tron 50 – 71 kWh | 93.02 |
| 10 | Audi e-tron 55 – 95 kWh | 92.93 |
| 11 | Skoda Enyaq iV – 77 kWh | 92.88 |
| 12 | Tesla Model 3 – 78.8 kWh (LG Chem) | 92.83 |
| 13 | Tesla Model S – 96 cells | 92.80 |
| 14 | Volkswagen ID.4 – 77 kWh | 92.77 |
| 15 | Skoda Enyaq iV – 77 kWh | 92.60 |
| 16 | Tesla Model X – 96 cells | 92.52 |
| 17 | Volkswagen ID.4 – 77 kWh | 92.27 |
| 18 | Tesla Model Y – 78.8 kWh (LG Chem) | 92.18 |
| 19 | Audi Q4 e-tron – 77 kWh | 92.18 |
| 20 | Volkswagen ID.3 – 58 kWh | 91.79 |
A note on the distance: the study looks at cars that have driven more than 10,000 Swedish “mil” — a unit equal to 10 kilometers each, so the threshold is 100,000 km, or about 62,000 miles. Every model in the top 20 averaged above 91%.
How it lines up with other datasets
Carla’s numbers track with the largest telematics study in the space. Fleet-data firm Geotab, drawing on more than 22,700 vehicles, found average annual degradation had improved to about 1.8% per year, low enough that it concluded EV batteries could last 20 years or more — outliving the car around them.
Tesla’s own figures tell a similar story. The automaker has reported that Model 3 and Model Y Long Range packs lose roughly 15% of capacity after 200,000 miles, with most of the drop happening early before the curve flattens.
Electrek’s Take
The LFP result is the most useful takeaway here, and it keeps showing up across independent datasets.
For years, the knock on LFP was that it’s the “budget” chemistry, lower range, lower density, the pack you get when you don’t pay for the good one. This data flips that framing on its head. On the metric that actually determines a used EV’s long-term value, how much capacity it keeps, the LFP Model 3 beat both the LG Chem and Panasonic nickel versions of the identical car. The cheaper battery is the more durable battery.
That has real consequences for the used market. A buyer cross-shopping two 2022 Model 3s at the same mileage and price could be looking at a five-point difference in remaining health, and nothing on the window sticker tells them which pack is inside.
It’s a good thing that there are now plenty of tools to determine battery health, including one directly from Tesla.
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