BCA has opened an industry-first facility offering cost-effective battery repairs for de-fleeted electric and hybrid vehicles, aimed at helping them find homes with second-hand buyers.
The site in Doncaster is managed by BCA Fleet Solutions and offers diagnostics, repairs and replacements for high-voltage components including the battery, inverter, drive motor and on-board charging system, with work carried out to OEM standards.
The facility is equipped to work on all makes and models, focused on vehicles with an expired or invalidated warranty. BCA says it will use “green” (used) parts where available.
The used electric car market is breaking records for volume each quarter as it receives the influx of three- to five-year-old ex-fleet cars, many of which were leased to company car and salary sacrifice schemes following the introduction of ultra-low tax rates in April 2020.
At 86,943 units, EVs accounted for 4.3% of all used car sales in the first quarter of this year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), and that supply is increasing.
The latest data from HM Revenue & Customs shows 51% of company car drivers (467,000 of them) were in electric cars in 2024/25. That’s a sizeable jump from the 7% share (52,000 drivers) in 2020/21.
However, with supply surging, comparatively few incentives available for second-hand buyers and sizeable discounts on new cars, the leasing sector is claiming large losses as companies face “cliff-edge” residual values when those vehicles are auctioned at the end of what’s typically a three-year contract.
Used vehicle leasing is rising in popularity, which helps spread depreciation over a longer period, but companies have warned they could need to inflate monthly rentals on new cars to cover the risk of further losses – and that would make them more expensive for both fleets and private customers.
Industry body the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), whose members operate 750,000 EVs (more than a third of the two million on UK roads), has called for standardised battery health certificates to give buyers more confidence and make vehicles easier to sell.
With more than 1000 EVs going through its auctions each week, BCA has launched several services to support demand, claiming vehicles are selling quickly and at higher prices than the residual value guides have forecast.
In 2024, the company introduced a battery service report working with specialist firm Aviloo, which produces a health score out of 100 and issues condition grades from A to E, then supplies a full report to winning bidders that they can pass on to customers.
Within a year, BCA claimed the 22,000 vehicles auctioned with battery health reports averaged a 1.4% improvement over the guide price and a 2.7-day reduction in time-to-sale, showing higher confidence among dealers that they could sell them on.
This builds on the EV/Hybrid Assured Report, introduced in 2019, which includes diagnostics and drive tests, and assesses the condition of vehicles’ charging ports, cables and inverter coolant levels.
Paul Bromley, managing director of BCA Fleet Solutions, said: “Rather than simply replacing expensive batteries, we investigate the cause and repair or replace components, delivering a cost-effective and timely solution that means EVs and hybrid vehicles can be repaired and offered for sale without undue delay.