Batteries and range: LFP, NMC and the numbers behind them

LFP and NMC, the two main chemistries

Two lithium-ion chemistries cover most electric car batteries: lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC). The IEA counts LFP at over 55% of EV batteries deployed worldwide in 2025, up from nearly 50% in 2024, and notes that China leads its production.

LFP is the cheaper chemistry. In 2025 LFP packs were more than 40% cheaper per kWh on average than NMC, though part of that gap reflects stationary storage, which mostly uses LFP and needs less energy density.

NMC holds more energy for its weight. The IEA gives up to 205 Wh/kg for the latest LFP batteries and up to 265 Wh/kg for NMC. Ossila, a laboratory materials supplier, notes that high-nickel materials such as NMC811 tend to degrade faster than LFP.

Sodium-ion and semi-solid batteries

Leading battery makers, CATL and BYD among them, are now scaling up sodium-ion, according to the IEA. The latest cells reach up to 175 Wh/kg, keep around 90% of nominal capacity at -40 °C and can operate up to 70 °C. The IEA estimates up to 350 km of range in an average SUV, against 400 to 600 km for lithium-ion in average weather.

CATL and Changan unveiled a passenger car with CATL's Naxtra sodium-ion cells on 5 February 2026, and at the time planned a market launch for mid-2026. Models with a 45 kWh pack were quoted at up to 400 km of electric range, with no test cycle named.

Semi-solid-state batteries are already sold, but the IEA says their promised gains in range and safety have not yet been shown in real-world use, and that they need operating temperatures of around 60 to 90 °C. SAIC began delivering the MG4 Anxin Edition in China on 18 December 2025, with a 53.95 kWh manganese-based pack holding about 5% liquid electrolyte, against roughly 20% in standard cells. Almost-solid and all-solid designs are still at the prototype stage.

Three test cycles: CLTC, WLTC and EPA

Chinese makers quote range on the CLTC, defined in standard GB/T 38146.1-2019. The passenger-car cycle lasts 1,800 seconds over 14.48 km, averages 28.96 km/h including stops and peaks at 114 km/h.

The WLTC, set out in UN Global Technical Regulation No. 15 for the WLTP, also runs for 1,800 seconds. In its Class 3b version, for cars with a top speed of 120 km/h or more, it covers 23,266 m and reaches 131.3 km/h across low, medium, high and extra-high phases. Volkswagen gives its average speed as 46.6 km/h.

The US EPA drives a fully charged car on a dynamometer over city and highway cycles until the battery is empty. The most common method then multiplies the lab result by 0.7 to allow for air conditioning, cold weather and fast or aggressive driving, and weights city and highway at 55% and 45% for the label.

Why CLTC reads higher

The Chinese cycle is gentler: its average speed is far lower than the WLTC's and its top speed is 114 km/h rather than 131.3 km/h. CarNewsChina explains that it was built from real driving in China, with engineers following a couple of thousand vehicles for three years, so it mirrors Chinese traffic rather than European or American roads.

InsideEVs gives a rule of thumb: a WLTP figure runs about 22% above the EPA one, and a CLTC figure about 35% above EPA. It adds that the ratios vary by maker and model, so no conversion is exact.

In slow city traffic, CLTC can come close. In 2023 CarNewsChina reported a Chengdu owner of a Leapmotor C11 who drove 301.2 km in a week, against the 309 km the CLTC rating predicted for the share of the battery he used. He drove mostly short trips in town at 15 to 30 °C, which the article treats as typical for China but not for European or American drivers.

Heat and battery life

Geotab studied more than 22,700 electric vehicles across 21 makes and models and, in January 2026, reported average battery degradation of 2.3% a year, up from 1.8% in its 2024 findings. Vehicles in hotter regions lost about 0.4% a year more than those in mild climates.

Charging habits weighed more than climate. Vehicles that relied heavily on DC fast charging above 100 kW degraded by up to 3.0% a year, against about 1.5% for those charged mainly on AC or at lower power. Wear also sped up when a car spent more than 80% of its time at very high or very low charge.

For a hot climate, check that the battery has liquid cooling. YallaMotor's guide for Gulf buyers calls it important in that heat.

Fast charging: C-rate and 800 to 1,000 V

C-rate expresses charging or discharging speed relative to the battery's capacity. In theory a battery fills in one hour at 1C, in 30 minutes at 2C and in 6 minutes at 10C.

Xpeng's 2025 G6 and G9 use an 800 V silicon carbide platform with 5C LFP batteries on every trim. Xpeng quotes about 12 minutes from 10% to 80%, with peak power of up to 451 kW for the G6 and 525 kW for the G9; the earlier 3C packs needed about 20 minutes.

BYD's Super e-Platform, launched on 17 March 2025, combines 1,000 V and 1,000 A for 1 MW of charging power and a 10C rating. BYD says the Han L can add 400 km in five minutes, and it planned more than 4,000 megawatt flash-charging stations in China to deliver that.

CATL's first Shenxing LFP battery, shown in August 2023, was rated at 4C, with a claimed 400 km from a 10-minute charge and 80% in about 30 minutes at -10 °C. Fast charging also wears a battery faster, as the Geotab figures above show.

Battery safety and warranties in China

Since 1 July 2026, China's GB 38031 standard (2025 edition) requires a battery to show no fire and no explosion after thermal runaway in a single cell. The previous rule accepted fire or explosion as long as occupants were warned at least five minutes earlier. New mandatory tests cover underbody impacts and long-term fast-charge cycling.

Chinese carmakers generally give an eight-year or 120,000 km warranty on the traction battery, terms CnEVPost links to a technical standard introduced in April 2015. Some go further: in July 2026 Chery announced an open-ended battery warranty for the first owner of its cars with Rhino packs, for non-commercial use in China.

The warranties above are described for cars sold in China. Since 1 January 2026, a car whose export application is made within 180 days of its registration needs the maker's sealed after-sales service confirmation naming the destination. A 2024 Rest of World report on cars registered in China and then shipped to markets such as Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East found they arrive with no official after-sales service, so ask in writing how a battery claim would work from abroad.

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