The RAC has beefed up its warranty policy for electric vehicle batteries. Battery failure for cars up to 12 years and 80,000 miles has been added to RAC Warranty’s dedicated electric vehicle (EV) policy, EV One.
Cover applies to full battery electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid models, while a wide range of standard vehicle components are also covered to the highest level offered by the company.
Lee Coomber, RAC client director at Assurant, the Fortune 500 company which partners with the RAC in the aftersales market, said: “EV One was introduced in 2020 as an early specialist EV warranty product and has helped us build strong insight into what car buyers are looking for when purchasing an electrified vehicle.
“While concerns around battery failure have eased somewhat over the years, it remains an important consideration for many EV buyers, particularly those purchasing an EV for the first time. With this extension to existing EV One cover, we are providing additional reassurance for customers over a longer period of vehicle ownership.”
The revised EV One warranty can be applied to any electrified vehicle sold through an RAC dealer up to a maximum of 12 years old with 80,000 miles on the clock. Cover can apply for a variety of periods up to 48 months and claims made at the supplying dealer or subject to the policy terms, at other approved repairers, up to a limit of the vehicle purchase price.
A battery is considered to have failed when it will not receive charge, hold charge, or discharge through propulsion of the vehicle. Any replacement component will provide at least the equivalent energy capacity of the previous battery immediately prior to failure, taking into account factors such as age and mileage.
Coomber said the increasing presence of electric vehicles in the used market had seen EV policy sales at RAC Warranty during the first six months of 2026 exceed the total for 2025.
“EV warranties now account for a significant proportion of our warranty sales and are continuing to increase strongly in the second half of this year. Rapidly increasing numbers of used EVs are entering the market at just the moment when there is growing consumer interest in lower running-cost vehicles.”
