The growth of electric vehicles (EVs) has prompted the need to enhance the technology of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in order to improve their response when subjected to external factors that can alter their performance, thereby affecting their safety and efficiency. Mechanical abuse has been considered one of the major sources of LIB failure due to the changes it provokes in the structural integrity of cells. Therefore, this article aims to review the main factors that aggravate the effects of mechanical loading based on the results of different laboratory tests that subjected LIBs to abusive testing. The results of different cell types tested under different mechanical loadings have been gathered in order to assess the changes in LIB properties and the main mechanisms responsible for their failure and permanent damage. The main consequences of mechanical abuse are the increase in LIB degradation and the formation of events such as internal short circuits (ISCs) and thermal runways (TRs). Then, a set of standards and regulations that evaluate the LIB under mechanical abuse conditions are also reviewed.

This article constitutes a relatively new perspective that has emerged from the need to reduce environmental pollution from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) by reinforcing the fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road. Future requirements to exclusively use zero-emission vehicles have resulted in the necessity of enhancing the testing and monitoring process for EVs in order to release reliable devices. The unpredictable response of lithium-ion batteries (LIBS), future lack of raw materials, and inconsistencies in the present regulations must be reviewed and understood in order to develop enhanced batteries. This article aims to outline the future perspective of nonconventional vehicles monopolizing the roads by year 2035 in order to eradicate CO₂ emissions by year 2050.