Plug-in hybrids outpace EVs on battery degradation due to varied use patterns

The headline sounds alarming but the detail is reassuring and more useful: average battery health is similar between EVs and PHEVs — it's the consistency that differs. PHEV batteries vary more because owners use them so differently; someone who never plugs in stresses the pack unlike someone who runs mostly electric. That makes a used PHEV's battery harder to judge by age or mileage alone, which is the practical point for anyone shopping second-hand. The lesson isn't 'PHEVs degrade faster' — it's that with a PHEV, how the previous owner drove matters more than the odometer.