mobile-menu-icon
GM Authority

Insurers May Have To Total Electric Vehicles For Even The Slightest Damage To Batteries

Much like the broader auto industry, GM is in the midst of a transition to electric vehicles, with plans for zero tailpipe emissions across its light-duty vehicle lineup by the 2035 calendar year. Of course, one of the most important components in an EV is the battery, and now, one recent report indicates that even the slightest damage to an EV battery pack may result in insurance companies totaling the entire vehicle.

According to a report from Reuters, many electric vehicles do not provide a method for insurance companies to assess or repair battery packs following a collision, which means that even slight damage to the pack could lead to a full write-off for the EV in question.

A GMC Sierra EV is charged.

The battery pack is typically one of the most expensive components in an electric vehicle, and can even form an integral part of the overall structure, increasing repair costs substantially. According to the report, a replacement battery for a Tesla Model 3 sedan can costs upwards of $20,000, nearly half of the vehicle’s $43,000 retail price.

Some automakers, including GM and Ford, contend that they have made battery packs that are easier to repair. Nevertheless, insurance premiums for electric vehicles, which are already high compared to internal-combustion-based vehicles, are expected to continue to rise unless automakers develop more easily repairable battery packs.

The issue challenges the argument that electric vehicles provide a sustainable method to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change. It’s estimated that EVs already produce more carbon during production compared to an equivalent ICE-based model, which means that if an EV is totaled prior to reaching carbon parity with an ICE-based vehicle, the average carbon emissions may in fact be higher for the EV. Carbon parity depends on a variety of different factors, most critically the charging source, but it can be tens of thousands of miles after the EV rolls off the production line before the EV reaches equivalence with a comparable ICE-based model.

Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM electric vehicle news, GM technology news, GM business news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.

Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

Subscribe to GM Authority

For around-the-clock GM news coverage

We'll send you one email per day with the latest GM news. It's totally free.

Comments

  1. If ICEV drivers did not collide with EVs then the insurance companies can reduce rates and worry less about declaring a total loss.

    Reply
    1. Some of GM’s EVs are being advertised as off-road vehicles. You can do a lot of damage off-road.

      Reply
      1. insurance does not cover off-roading damage.

        Reply
  2. Great, our insurance rates are going to skyrocket. So far there is nothing beneficial to EV’s. It makes sense why this regime is pushing them. What’s up is down and down is up.

    Reply
    1. It’s all about the lefties/greenies feeling good about their intentions rather than dealing with the realities of them.

      Reply
  3. Well, here I go again: EV are being oversold. They are far from magic.

    Reply
  4. Notice all the car magazines do EV road tests and they rate them high but stay away from all the negative information about them, or should I say the truth.

    Reply
    1. The media, MSM and print, are all basically told what to say.
      Never more obvious than over the last 10-15 years.

      Reply
  5. For the life of me I cannot understand why GM in particular continues to make bad decisions. My daughter is on her third Prius, a hybrid, and she gets 45 mpg with no plug in. Why Chevy abandoned the Volt, which got similar numbers remains a mystery. Taking th America public forward from our 25 mpg IC cars to 50 mpg hybrids just seems so logical. I sold my Cadillac ELR when it hit the first repair at 75,000 miles. FIVE MONTHS waiting for parts and $8,000 in repairs covered by warranty. Had to get out before the 100k drivetrain expired.

    Reply
    1. Mary is the most awesomess CEO ever simply because she’s a woman.

      Don’t believe me? Just ask the resident equality/inclusion pushers here on GMA.

      Reply
    2. Why is she on her third? I’m on my third car since ’87.

      Reply
  6. Insurance rates are already going up because of this fact. Our son had a Ford fusion hybrid in perfectly good condition. A guy ran a red light and hit him just behind the drivers rear door. The damage was minimal but the insurance company totaled the car because they could not determine if the battery had been damaged. Just another reason why electric vehicles are not going to be the do all be all that our current administration wants them to be. Many things are not being thought out well in this process. And if that wasn’t enough, some states are now planning for a larger percentage of electric vehicles, by 2035, while the federal government is looking at ways to eliminate power plants from making electricity. The new EPA rules would shut down a fair percentage of the power plants in America that are already working hard to illuminate carbon dioxide. This is gone far beyond nuts!

    Reply
  7. It all comes out in the wash. Sometimes you just have to wait for the full cycle to finish running. Saving the planet with a battery vehicle is nothing more than a bunch of dirty laundry. The Biden cycle continues to run for a couple of more years and off to the sewer system it goes, but not soon enough.

    Reply
  8. Well, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise. Electric vehicles are going to be costing the consumer thousands more in the long run then ICE vehicles. From the cost to produce until they are scraped and the taxpayers will be paying a lot of the bill.

    Reply
  9. Enterprising people will buy these up cheap and slap a LS in it. No need to worry about emissions because it is emissions exempt.take that tree huggers.

    Reply
  10. Was just wondering which of the electric vehicles would have a “tailpipe” in order to accomplish the zero emissions.

    Reply
  11. That is awesome!!!! The tree huggers pipe dream of all EVs get another blow 🙂 LOL

    Reply

Leave a comment

Cancel