Flemington is home to Sydney's produce markets, and the vehicle population around it reflects that: vans and light commercials that start before dawn, run loaded, and do the same route six days a week.
That is a genuinely different battery history from a family car, and almost nothing written about EV battery health accounts for it.
Payload is a battery question
A van carrying 800 kg of stock uses substantially more energy per kilometre than the same van empty. More energy per kilometre means more complete charge cycles for the same distance — and cycles, not kilometres, are what age a lithium pack.
A loaded van with 60,000 km on it has put more through its battery than an empty one with 80,000 km. The odometer understates the work, and understates it more the heavier the vehicle runs.
Cold starts, and what they do and do not mean
A 3am start in July means the pack begins the day cold. A cold lithium battery will not deliver what it delivers at 20°C — the range estimate drops, regenerative braking is limited until it warms, and charging starts slowly.
This is the distinction worth being clear about, because market operators notice it every winter and a fair number conclude the battery is failing: cold changes what a battery will give you today. It does not change how much capacity the battery actually has. State of Health is a measure of capacity relative to when the pack was new, and it is not the range figure on the dash. We can read the health figure on a freezing morning and it will be the same figure we would read in February.
What does matter is charging while cold or while hot. Plugging in immediately after a long loaded run, with the pack still warm, is harder on it than letting it settle — and depot charging schedules rarely allow for that.
The commercial warranty trap
Several manufacturers treat commercial use differently. Toyota's bZ4X capacity cover excludes commercial use outright. GWM caps commercial vehicles at 150,000 km where private owners get unlimited kilometres. Toyota and Lexus hybrid cover drops to 160,000 km for commercial vehicles instead of unlimited.
If you are buying an ex-commercial vehicle, the cover you assume you are inheriting may not exist. Check the terms for the brand before you price it.
Where we come to
Homebush, Homebush West, Flemington, Lidcombe, Strathfield, Sydney Olympic Park, Silverwater, Auburn, Newington and Concord West. Markets, depots, workplace car parks and home addresses. If you are checking several vehicles at one site, say so when you book.
Booking
Online booking is open for all Homebush postcodes. $249 per vehicle, no travel surcharge. Phone 02 7252 1390 for multi-vehicle bookings or an early start.
Dealer and fleet testing · Auburn · Burwood and Strathfield · Book a test — $249