Electric vehicle repair costs revealed versus ICE equivalent
05/07/2023 in Electric fleet news
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The research, published by Thatcham Research and funded by the Government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, highlights the technical and practical differences between battery electric vehicle (BEVs) and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle insurance claims processes.
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Thatcham Research’s data-driven modelling shows that in 2022, 9,400 vehicles were potentially involved in collisions resulting in battery inclusion in the repair. This is estimated to reach up to 260,000 vehicles annually by 2035.
Adrian Watson, head of engineering research, Thatcham Research, said: “Without meaningful change, there is a strong likelihood that claims costs will continue to rise disproportionally.
“Much of the motor insurance industry is yet to adapt to mass BEV adoption challenges, and the implications remain unquantified on repair capacity, training and skills, cost, and the lifetime sustainability of BEVs.
“This lack of awareness means many BEVs are often deemed irreparable, leading to premature write-offs because of high battery cost and the lack of value the UK ecosystem can recover from them.”
Currently, the cost of a replacement HV battery is causing a significant increase in the risk of ‘total loss’ or write-offs.
The cost of HV batteries varies widely from high-end vehicles, currently costing £29,500, to the low-end costing £14,200.
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If the vehicle cannot be safely stored at the repair centre there will be further costs associated with transportation to and from an alternative location, storage at the alternative location, along with a longer duration of hire vehicle.
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Read more: https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/latest-fleet-news/electric-fleet-n...
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The report is available here.
For now it looks like insurance companies are mostly absorbing the losses of covering EVs, but I doubt this situation is sustainable.
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When I hit a kangaroo a few years ago, my vehicle was still drivable, but there was a big dent in front left of the vehicle, which would have involved the battery if I was driving an EV.
My internal combustion vehicle required about $1000 of repairs from memory.
An equivalent EV repair could easily have been one of those £14,200 – £29,500 write-offs.
$1000 vs £29,500 – that’s a big difference in terms of insurance risk.
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The report calls for the development of battery repair skills to mitigate this disparity, rather than expensive battery write-offs, but will battery repair ever been an acceptable option?
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While Thatcham Research claims “technical solutions do exist”, can any of you imagine accepting an EV with a “repaired” battery pack?
How much temptation will there be for EV battery repairers to cut corners, to boost profits by pushing the margin on what level of battery damage is acceptable, for the battery to be included in a “repaired” battery pack?
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It wouldn’t take many battery repair scandals and deadly insurance repair fires to kill any attempt to make EV battery repair a thing.
Even if battery repairers are honest, if a battery looks OK, and even if battery cells pass X-ray inspection, any one of those cells could still contain micro-scale crash damage which turns the battery pack into a ticking time bomb.
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