Business
How to tell the health of a battery in a used EV
Chris BaraniukTechnology Reporter
Corbis via Getty ImagesWhen Kerry Dunstan and his partner set out to buy a new electric car this summer, one of the questions they asked was, “How’s the battery?”.
They’d found a 2021 Nissan Leaf with just 29,000 miles on it, and the dealer told them the condition of the battery, or its state of health (SOH), was still around 93%.
The couple were sold. For £12,500, they got an EV with a big boot and plenty of room for passengers.
Though Mr Dunstan, a cabinetmaker who also owns a somewhat snazzier electric Volvo SUV, hasn’t quite fallen in love with the aging Leaf.
“I like sporty, jazzy cars – and it’s just a bit ‘meh’,” he says.
However, he adds the Leaf has performed exactly as expected during the three months they’ve owned it.
It used to be that age and mileage were the two headline details pored over by would-be buyers of second-hand cars. But as more people shift to electric, scrutinising the health of a car’s battery has become arguably even more important.
How has that battery been treated? Did the last owner regularly fast charge it to 100%, for example? That has the potential to shorten an EV battery’s lifespan.
This battery black box problem has put some consumers off buying a second-hand EV. But battery analytics firms say they can reveal the condition of an old EV’s battery with high accuracy. And industry experts say some EVs are lasting longer than many predicted.
Take Mr Dunstan’s Nissan Leaf. This is a model of EV built without the kind of sophisticated, liquid-based battery cooling system common to many other EVs. While Nissan has rectified this in the latest generation of Leafs, earlier models show a considerable shortening of their range year by year, according to data analysed by US insurance and research firm NimbleFins.
Mr Dunstan is unfazed. “I charge both my EVs to 100% and I put them on charge when I need to charge them – I don’t worry about it,” he says.
Kerry DunstanFor people in the market for a second-hand EV who are plagued by battery anxieties, however, Austria-based firm Aviloo says it has a solution. “We really can, completely independently, determine the state of health of a battery,” says chief product officer, Patrick Schabus.
Aviloo is one of several battery analytics businesses in the market. The company, which provides battery health certificates for major UK outlet British Car Auctions, offers two products.
There’s a premium test, where EV owners plug a data logging box roughly the size of a glasses case into their car so that it can monitor battery performance while they use the car over a few days, going from 100% charge down to 10%.
Or, they can opt for a quicker flash test, which uses a different box to suck up data from the car’s battery management software and then analyse it with the help of a computer model. “We can do this at a standstill in under two minutes,” says Mr Schabus.
The premium test observes battery discharge closely, picking up fluctuations in current or voltage, and can reveal extra detailed information about the health of individual cells in the battery, says Aviloo.
Marcus Berger, Aviloo’s chief executive, says his company’s analytics results sometimes diverge “substantially” from the battery SOH percentages produced by some cars’ own built-in analytics systems.
He challenges conventional wisdom that batteries with an SOH below 80% are too far gone: “An EV with a state of health below 80% can still be a great car… It just needs to be priced [appropriately].”
In New Zealand, EV owner Lucy Hawcroft, who works in a sustainability role for an infrastructure firm, bought a Nissan Leaf with her husband roughly three years ago. She recalls getting an SOH result of 95% or so from the dealership. But a year later an independent mechanic checked the SOH again for them.
“It dropped quite a bit,” she recalls. “My husband was a bit surprised, or concerned, about that.”
However, the car still has a range of around 160km (100 miles) when fully charged. The pair mostly use it for short journeys of up to 10km. Mrs Hawcroft says she has friends whose EVs have much bigger ranges, of around 400km: “That would be ideal.”
For David Smith, sales director at Cleevely Electric Vehicles in Cheltenham, being able to analyse used EVs’ batteries in detail is a deal-maker. Most customers ask for this information, he says. His company uses SOH reports from ClearWatt, another battery analytics firm.
“They’re completely independent. We can’t interfere with the reports,” he says. “Once customers have seen the report, that aids the sale nine times out of 10.”
Matt Cleevely, managing director at Cleevely Electric Vehicles, adds that it’s often possible to replace groups of cells or modules within a battery pack – far cheaper than installing a whole new battery.
Lucy CrawfordAs for how you should charge your own EV in order to best take care of its battery, Simona Onori at Stanford University says, “There is likely a sweet spot between frequent fast charging and avoiding it altogether.” However, she adds that, to her knowledge, this is not something that has yet been thoroughly studied.
Despite some consumers’ wariness, battery technology has noticeably improved in recent years, says Max Reid, head of battery costs at market research firm CRU. “The older batteries might last maybe 500 to 1,000 [charging] cycles,” he explains. “Now, it’s 10,000 cycles in some of these new EV cells coming out.”
Batteries that are no longer good enough for the EV they were designed for can still be useful, says Paul Chaundy at Second Life EV Batteries, in Dorset. For instance, some of his customers are businesses that use former EV batteries to store electricity at their premises. They might have, say, six electric forklifts but a grid connection only large enough for charging ports to supply two or three of the forklifts.
Regarding the varying methodologies car manufacturers use to generate SOH reports for their own vehicles, Mr Chaundy says, “We need more standards around that, I think.”
Business
High-Skilled Immigration: US tightens screws on high-skilled immigration: Denial rates surge across key visa categories – The Times of India
For Indian tech and medical professionals, researchers and even global achievers eyeing to work in the US, the path is becoming increasingly uncertain. New data shows that even the most elite immigration routes, once seen as relatively stable, are now facing sharply higher rejection rates, signalling a broader tightening of legal migration pathways.The US has significantly increased denial rates for high-skilled immigration categories in fiscal 2025 (year ending Sept 30, 2025), reflecting a policy-driven shift to restrict legal migration even for highly qualified professionals according to a new analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).“The latest data show that Trump administration officials intend to make it difficult for even the most highly skilled individuals from around the world to work in the US,” said Stuart Anderson, executive director of NFAP.A change of this magnitude indicates a crackdown on approvals, the analysis noted, pointing to a sharp rise in rejection rates despite no formal regulatory changes.
Green card routes for top talent see sharpest rise
The steepest increases are in employment-based green card categories used by highly accomplished professionals. The increase in denials occurred within a single year, despite no new regulations indicating a shift in adjudication standards.
- EB-1 (extraordinary ability): Denial rates nearly doubled from 25.6% in Q4 FY2024 to 46.6% in Q4 FY2025
- EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW): Denials rose from 38.8% in Q4 FY2024 to 64.3% in Q4 FY2025
Over a longer period, the trend is even sharper: NIW denial rates rose from 4.3% in FY2022 to 44.8% in FY2025, states the report.
Temporary work visas also tightening
Denial rates have also increased across key temporary work visa categories, particularly toward the end of FY2025:
- O-1 visas: Denial rates rose from 5.0% in Q4 FY2024 to 7.3% in Q4 FY2025 . These visas are meant for individuals with extraordinary ability in fields such as science, technology, arts, education, business or sports. It is typically used by top researchers, startup founders, artists and senior professionals with a strong record of achievement.
- L-1A visas: Denial rates increased from 8.0% in Q4 FY2024 to 9.6% in Q4 FY2025. These visas are used by multinational companies to transfer senior executives or managers from an overseas office to a US office. It is a key route for leadership mobility within global firms.
- L-1B visas: Denial rates rose from 8.1% in Q4 FY2024 to 9.2% in Q4 FY2025. These visas are also for intracompany transfers, but specifically for employees with specialised knowledge and are often used for technical experts and niche-skilled staff.
H-1B remains stable—but pressure persists
The H-1B visa, widely used by Indian IT professionals, has not seen a comparable increase in denial rates, the denial rates remained stable at around 2.0%–2.1% in FY2025. This is attributed to a 2020 legal settlement, which limits changes to adjudication standards without formal rulemaking.However, policy pressure continues through other measures. President Trump has signed an executive order mandating a $100,000 fee to petition for an H‑1B worker outside the US. Further, selection in the lottery for H-1B cap visas is linked to wages and there is a proposal to increase wages across all levels.
Backlogs and delays worsen the squeeze
For the Indian diaspora, these statistics are worrying. Between Q4 FY2024 and Q4 FY2025, backlogs rose across key immigration filings. Pending I-129 petitions—used by employers to sponsor non-immigrant workers such as H-1B, L-1 and O-1 visa holders — increased by more than 54,000. The backlog for I-140 petitions, which are employer-sponsored applications for employment-based green cards, rose by 58,400.At the final stage, delays also deepened: the backlog for I-485 applications—filed by individuals to adjust status to permanent residence (green card) within the US—continued to grow.
Bottom line
The data signals a clear shift: legal immigration pathways are narrowing over FY2025, particularly in the latter half of the fiscal year, driven by stricter adjudication rather than new laws.
UK inflation lifted to its highest since December after a sharp jump in diesel and petrol prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East, according to official figures.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Iran crisis was “not our war, but it is pushing up bills for families and businesses” as a result.
The rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation increased to 3.3% in March from 3% in February, the Office for National Statistics said.
The increase was in line with predictions from economists.
Higher motor fuel was the main driver of the acceleration in inflation, increasing by 8.7% month-on-month – the largest increase since June 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The ONS found that the average price of petrol rose by 8.6p per litre between February and March to 140.2p per litre. This marked the highest price since August 2024.
Diesel prices meanwhile increased by 17.6p per litre in March to an average of 158.7p per litre, the highest price since November 2023.
Office for National Statistics chief economist Grant Fitzner said: “Inflation climbed in March, largely due to increased fuel prices, which saw their largest increase for over three years.
“Air fares were another upward driver this month, alongside rising food prices.
“The only significant offset came from clothing costs, where prices rose by less than this time last year.”
The data revealed that the cost of air travel also increased significantly, with inflation of 14.5% compared with the same month last year.
The rise in air fares, which analysts have partly linked to the early timing of the Easter holidays, was the highest since July last year.
Meanwhile, food and non-alcoholic drink prices were up 3.7% year-on-year in March, accelerating from 3.3% inflation in the previous month.
This included another acceleration in the price of sweets and chocolates, which were up 10.6% year-on-year.
Elsewhere, clothing and footwear had a downward pressure on inflation, as prices dipped 0.8% for the month.
Sales and discounting activity pulled inflation in the category to its lowest level since March 2021.
The rise in the overall rate of inflation drives the UK further away from the 2% inflation target set by the Government and the Bank of England.
Ms Reeves said: “We’re acting to protect people from unfair price rises if they occur to bring down food prices at the till, and are boosting long-term energy security — building a stronger, more secure economy.”
James Smith, developed markets economist at ING, said: “The latest rise in UK headline CPI tells us virtually nothing about the scale and duration of the inflation wave to come.
“The Bank of England is still flying blind, with the conflict unresolved, but the limited amount of survey data available so far suggests little cause for alarm on inflation.”
Anna Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said: “As inflation has come in in line with revised expectations, and given yesterday’s labour market data which showed a fall in vacancies and further downward progress in wage growth, interest rates should hold at next week’s MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) meeting.
“But there remains tremendous uncertainty over the outlook for energy supply and prices.”
The Manx treasury says plans are in place to protect essential services in the wake of the Iran war.
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High-Skilled Immigration: US tightens screws on high-skilled immigration: Denial rates surge across key visa categories – The Times of India
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