This white Hyundai IONIQ 5 is single-handedly rewriting the rules on EV longevity by driving over 360,000 miles on its original battery. What’s even wilder? The battery still had 87% battery health, despite the owner exclusively using DC fast charging to charge the car to 100%.

That was more than 50,000 miles ago, and the car is still going strong!

Take a good look at that digital dashboard display up there, and you might notice the Hyundai IONIQ 5’s odometer is sitting pretty at 666,255 km. That’s over 413,990 miles, and the South Korean EV is, reportedly, still racking up miles — and fast! Over at the Facebook Group Mileage Impossible, the car’s owner claimed he covered all those miles in less than three-and-a-half years … which works out to just under 10,000 miles per month! (!!!) 

Nearly 400 miles per day

Like any vehicle being driven extreme miles, Hyundai’s excellent IONIQ 5 isn’t perfect. That means a bunch of stuff broke, including the car’s Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU), which means it can’t currently be charged on AC (L1/L2) charger. And, while electric cars don’t need oil changes, they do need other types maintenance, and the differential oils and brake fluids have been regularly changed on this car — which, no doubt, has contributed to its longevity.

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The most significant repair to date was the battery replacement at 360,000 miles (almost 55,000 miles ago, by my math). Remarkably, Hyundai covered the cost of the replacement despite the battery being way, way beyond its original 10 year/100,000 mile warranty.

The most impressive part of all this? Even after enduring 360,000 miles and countless fast-charging cycles, the battery reportedly retained 87% of its original health. (!)

Electrek’s Take

We’ve written about high-mileage Teslas in the past, but stories like this are massively important to people who are still on the fence about EVs. And, with the average age of vehicles on US roads creeping up on 13 years, it’s hard to argue with the relevance of those long-term drivability and dependability concerns.

And now, with this 400,000 IONIQ 5, Hyundai has a shining example of the fact that its soon-to-be American-made EVs can go the distance.

Hyundai is still offering 0.99% APR financing for 60 months on all versions of the hot-selling 2025 IONIQ 5, as well as up to $7,500 in Retail Bonus Cash, which (when combined with other incentives in certain markets) can make a huge difference to customers’ bottom line. It doesn’t look like the two offers can be combined, however, so be sure to do the math and see which deal makes the most sense for you.

SOURCES | IMAGES: 수와호수스와호수 and Mileage Impossible; via InsideEVs and Torque News.

Porsche is launching a new EV battery recycling pilot to recover valuable raw materials from its cars’ high-voltage battery packs at the end of their useful life in vehicles. The new pilot hopes to develop a “closed-loop” raw material cycle that would have new batteries made from old batteries without the need for new, high carbon cost mineral mining.

The German company best known for building ultra high-performance sports and racing cars has an equally long history in engineering and innovation, and has fully embraced EVs in recent years – launching all-electric versions of its Macan compact crossover and, of course, the excellent Porsche Taycan.

With this new initiative, Porsche engineers hope to address the growing importance of recycled battery raw materials and promote the responsible handling of high-voltage batteries at the end of life.

In the long term, a recycling network for EV batteries is planned to be established in collaboration with external partners.

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“With the help of innovative recycling processes, we strive to increase our independence from volatile and geopolitically unstable raw material markets,” says Barbara Frenkel, Executive Board Member for Procurement at Porsche. “Circular Economy is a core pillar of our sustainability strategy, and with this pilot project, we want to underscore our ambitions.”

Three phase plan

Porsche is advancing its commitment to sustainability by embracing the principles of, “reduce, reuse, recycle.” The company is developing more efficient electric vehicles with longer-lasting batteries, which are repurposed in “Second Life” Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) like the one implemented at its Leipzig plant (above). Now, through a new closed-loop recycling pilot, Porsche is emphasizing that “recycle” part by approaching the project in three phases.

In the first project phase, EV batteries from development vehicles are mechanically shredded at the end of their use-phase and processed into “black mass” that contains valuable raw materials like nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium. So far, the program has produced about 65 tons of processed black mass.

In the next phase, the black mass is further separated and refined until the materials reach both the levels of quality and purity Porsche demands from the “virgin” materials it buys for its new batteries.

In the third phase, Porsche takes the raw materials recovered from its decommissioned high-voltage batteries and makes new batteries with them, demonstrating Porsche’s, “holistic understanding of the circular economy.”

Porsche hopes its new pilot will help prepare the company for upcoming regulatory changes – for example, the expected requirements for batteries in the European Union by 2031. By adopting recycled materials early, the company says it intends to make an active contribution to the technology while further reducing its environmental impact.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Porsche.

Yamaha has announced plans to launch a pair of new five-seater electric golf carts featuring new lithium-ion batteries and vehicle control units developed in-house this June. The launch is scheduled to coincide with the company’s 50 year anniversary in the golf car/golf cart business.

Yamaha Motor launched its first golf cart, the YG292 “Land Car,” in June 1975. That original golf cart was powered by the company’s air-cooled, 292cc 2-stroke snowmobile engine, while its fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composite bodywork was developed using the companies maritime and boat-building expertise.

Just as those early golf carts used existing products to shorten their development times, company’s golf carts were one of the earliest product lines to get electrified – and the lessons learned there have influenced other Yamaha e-mobility product lines.

The company’s newest golf carts, five-seater electric models dubbed the G30Es and G31EPs, continue to lean on Yamaha’s top-shelf engineering expertise.

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The in-house developed batteries use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry in their cells, with the company claiming higher levels of reliability and an extended lifespan compared to other battery chemistries it’s worked with. The Yamaha batteries are available in both 4 kWh and 6 kWh capacities, enabling buyers to tailor their choice based on their individual driving range requirements, course conditions, and individual play/mobility preferences.

Both new models are 144.5″ (367 cm) long and 49.5″ (125 cm) wide, with an 84.25″ (214 cm) wheelbase, and are powered by an AC motor with, “superior speed and torque control, combined with optimized regenerative braking and a brushless design,” that, according to Yamaha, give the brand’s new golf carts far greater efficiency than the company’s previous models, resulting in 30% better efficiency.

You can check out more detailed pictures of the Yamaha-developed parts and full specs, below, then let us know what you think of the tuning fork brand’s newest mobility products in the comments.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Yamaha.