Kia has become the first major manufacturer to roll out cell-level battery passports to give drivers more confidence when switching to electric vehicles.
The South Korean brand announced that it would be conducting a public trial of a battery passport as part of research.
The technology will provide details of an electric vehicle's battery health with live, detailed data for each battery cell inside the vehicle.
The battery passport allows live "State of Health" (SoH) tracking, real-time repair diagnostics and end-to-end traceability across the lifecycle of the battery.
Kia said drivers would be able to benefit from an extended battery life, more affordable maintenance and more trust when investing in an electric car.
The trial of the battery passport will involve a Kia EV3 equipped with a Dukosi battery cell monitoring system, which was shipped to Germany in February.
Experts will be able to monitor the live data from each cell in the battery pack and upload it to the digital passport.
Users, mechanics and regulators will then be able to access the real-time information about the electric battery included in the vehicle.
Kia will become the first major car brand to trial cell-level battery passports
|KIA/PA
Marc Hedrich, President and CEO of Kia Europe, said the brand aimed to provide "a new standard" for motorists with transparent data about the health of the battery.
He added: "Through testing cell-level battery passports, we gain insights on what ownership benefits we can offer our customers.
"On top of advantages such as extended battery life, we will be building on a relationship of trust as well."
Kia noted that it would go beyond regulatory approvals and include safety-related data to provide even more reassurance to electric vehicle owners.
Kia aims to have the battery passport included in its electric vehicles by 2027
|KIA
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The Seoul-based manufacturer aims to have the battery passport included in all of its electric and hybrid vehicle models sold in Europe by 2027.
The use of a digital product passport (DPP) will be a legal requirement from 3038 through the European Union's Batteries Regulation ruling.
QR codes will also be used for all batteries to provide access to labelling information and information, including a "due diligence report".
Kia said the battery passport would automatically update after any repair work to the vehicle to ensure accuracy.
The trial is in collaboration with the EU-funded DATAPIPE project, in addition to ARN, the Dutch organisation responsible for the end-of-life treatment of cars and batteries.
Drivers will be able to identify and address maintenance issues early with real-time State of Health insights, helping them save time and money.
Kia remains one of the best-selling brands in the UK, with its growing range of electric vehicles being popular among drivers looking to ditch petrol and diesel.
The EVs range in price from £33,005 to £83,120 and include the EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, EV6 GT, EV9, EV9 GT and the Niro.