The “traction” batteries in my PHEV are warrantied for 8 years, but this new Stanford study indicates that they could last even longer than 8 years:
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An all too typical case of one set of researchers not sharing information with another set of researchers.
Automotive test engineers know the drive cycles of their cars. They have been collecting use data for well over 100 years. Given the tons of information modern cars send back to the manufacturer, they have a very good picture of how the cars are used.
Battery researchers in university settings don’t have this information. Automakers are unlikely to share their information with researchers for several reasons. There is no reason to share unless the university is granted a contract. Second, even with NDA’s, it is nearly impossible to keep a secret in university research.
Either way, much like any other used car, the buyer will devalue the car based on ignorance of the previous owner’s use and the risk of the enormous cost of battery replacement.
Like buying a used AMG Mercedes (or Kia!) after hearing some have needed new engines at very low miles.
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No new news to anyone in industry that “researchers, scientists and other academia” haven’t much clue about the real world. The sin in the document is including engineers in the list of people involved in this great discovery. 
First of all, when setting warranty periods, engineers from the manufacturer subject them to various conditions, including what would be suspected to be worst case. Then they take the shortest lifespan and add some additional margin to it to establish a warranty period baseline.
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that in actual use, the battery lifespans exceed the warranty period by a substantial margin. The economics majors in the business school next door can explain that to the scientific researchers surprised by this “discovery”.
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This is like the various articles on ‘how long do Prius batteries last?’ that quote the warranty time/miles. Useless.
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