From February 18, 2027, every new EV battery over 2 kWh needs a digital passport. State of health, origin, material composition, CO2 footprint, all readable via a QR code. The rule comes from the EU Battery Regulation, in force since 2023, and it covers cars, e-bikes, e-scooters and industrial batteries alike.
A few months earlier, in November 2026, Euro 7 forces newly type-approved models to show battery state of health directly in the vehicle, readable through the OBD interface too. Full rollout to all new registrations follows in November 2027.
Two rules, one target. The battery, the single most expensive part of the car, stops being a black box.
Read that next to last month's WLTP ruling. A German court said a real-world range gap of more than 10% counts as a legal defect, full refund territory. Range promises only mean something if the battery behind them is honest. Two EVs, same age, same mileage, can sit at very different states of health, and until now nobody buying, selling or leasing one had an official way to tell the difference.
That changes fast. If you're an OEM or a leasing company, this is not a second, unrelated compliance item to file away. It's the same problem the WLTP ruling exposed: numbers on a spec sheet that don't survive contact with reality.
