ADESA & Black Book now working with Recurrent’s EV battery reports
Recurrent now is working with two of the most notable names in the wholesale space — ADESA and Black Book — according to separate announcements made on Wednesday.
First, ADESA launched a new condition report feature to showcase battery performance of electric vehicles. Powered by Recurrent — an EV battery and range analytics company— the EV Range Score is available on the majority of used electric vehicles that transact on the U.S. market, providing buyers with more transparency and confidence when purchasing EVs.
Then, Black Book announced the integration of its VIN-specific data into a valuation tool built on Recurrent’s new Range Score.
Range Score is designed to make it easier to understand expected range in a used EV by comparing a unit’s current expected range to what was normal when new, which often differs from its EPA-rated range.
Leaders at ADESA and Black Book explained why they made the decision to align with Recurrent, which was one of this year’s Emerging 8 honorees.
“Electric vehicle adoption continues to accelerate, so we’re thrilled to evolve our condition reports to ensure customers have a more complete view of each vehicle,” ADESA president John Hammer said. “The addition of Recurrent’s Range Score ensures customers have access to the most relevant vehicle condition data — including a clearer understanding of EV battery health — and can make faster and smarter buying and selling decisions.”
“By combining our vehicle valuation data with Recurrent’s battery health data, consumers and dealers alike can access first-of-its-kind insight into the precise valuation of a used electric vehicle,” Black Book president Jared Kalfus said. “We are thrilled to have been selected to power this tool.”
During the inspection process, the vehicle VIN number for an eligible EV is shared through Recurrent’s software to generate a Range Score from zero to 100. That information is displayed clearly on the ADESA.com condition report with a Range Score badge.
Once the user clicks the badge, more information is shown including details on the warranty and expected battery performance in a full Recurrent Report.
“The battery represents a lot of the cost of a used EV and most of the concern that we hear from buyers—they want to know how the battery will hold up,” Recurrent co-founder and chief executive officer Scott Case said. “ADESA is establishing itself as a leader in the EV market by helping sellers pass that confidence on to buyers at each stage of the used car wholesale process.”
More than 50 dealerships have added Recurrent’s Range Scores to their used EV inventory. More detailed used EV reports, called Recurrent Reports, are also available to share information on battery warranties, expected range in different conditions, and how range is projected to change after three years of ownership.
Black Book said early results indicate that vehicles with Recurrent Reports can sell for thousands of dollars more than those without, and create a much better buyer experience by setting the right expectations around range.
For EV owners who are looking to sell, Recurrent will share their Range Score with dealerships and organize the offers so it is easy to compare and select a buyer.
Black Book’s vehicle valuation is combined with Recurrent’s new Range Score value, which uses modeling from 100 million recorded EV miles to make value adjustments for good batteries.
The new partnership is a step toward adding transparency to a rapidly growing used EV market that includes more than 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S. Initially eligible vehicle models include Chevrolet Bolt, Chevrolet Volt, Nissan LEAF, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X and Tesla Model Y.
“We founded Recurrent with the mission to give confidence to used EV buyers, and a lot of that starts with the price tag,” Case said. “The combination of Recurrent’s battery insights and Black Book’s auto market expertise looks a lot like the change that we originally hoped to see.”