While there are many decisions that prospective buyers consider before electing to purchase an all-electric vehicle, battery health is typically not one such factor. Of course, this isn’t a major concern when buying a brand-new EV, but as electric vehicles continue to get more popular, more folks while have to consider battery life when purchasing used EVs. With that in mind, research has found that newer all-electric vehicles generally need fewer battery replacements.
According to a report from Recurrent, older EVs boast the highest incidence of battery replacements, which likely comes as little surprise. For newer electric vehicles – or 2016 and younger – less than one percent have required a battery replacement outside of recalls. Overall, when taking said recalls out of the picture, only 2.5 percent of battery packs in 2011 to 2024 model-year EVs have been replaced thus far.
It’s worth noting that the batteries used in EVs can cost as much as 50 percent of the value of the vehicle.
Outside of just age, there are likely a few reasons as to why this may be the case. From 2015 to 2022, the average battery size jumped 122 percent, meaning that newer EVs have more wiggle room to lose capacity before necessitating a replacement. In addition, thermal and battery management systems continue to improve, so it’s likely that battery life will continue to advance moving forward.
In regard to the aforementioned recalls, GM Authority has tirelessly covered the numerous Chevy Bolt EV and Chevy Bolt EUV recalls since reports of battery-related fires began cropping up a few years ago. Since then, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched and closed an investigation into the claims, and the Detroit-based automaker initiated a buyback program for owners in select states.
More recently, General Motors and LG reached a settlement to create a $150-million relief fund. Owners of recalled Chevy Bolt EV and Bolt EUV units who installed the final battery-related recall before December 31st, 2023 may be eligible to receive up to $1,400. Meanwhile, those who sold or terminated their lease before the software fix was available, along with those who already replaced the battery, will receive a minimum of $700.
Be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for GM-related green news, GM-related EV news, and more obsessive-compulsive GM news coverage.
Comments
“EV’s” are the worst thing to happen to America right behind Biden!
NEXT complainer….moving on. LOL.
Given the average age of US cars is right at 13 years (a 2011), I’m not sure that a 30% replacement rate for the average aged car is all that great. Reality is if a battery replacement is 1/2 the cost of a new car, then that says the car is scrap value if the battery needs replacing at 13 years. Mecum auctions is not going to have any cars outside of old ICE vehicles in 20 years. But then I’ve not seen any EV designs on par with say the XKSS either.
That stat from 2011 is almost entirely or entirely Nissan’s Leaf. Only the Leaf and Volt were on sale that year and I’m not sure if they included the Volt, which is a PHEV, in this study. The Leaf, especially the first gen, is and was always complete garbage. A hot mess.
It wasn’t until 2016 that Tesla passed Nissan in sales and the Nissan more or less went into the garbage can sales wise, where it belonged.
Look at the graph. 30% of 2011 EVs have batteries replaced. This trend is increasing exponentially as the EV ages. And this does not even include those that need replacement but did not replace due to the high cost.
And once this becomes a well known industry-wide issue, the resale of these cars will plummet. It will get to a point where once a car is 10 years old and the battery has degraded, most people will simply scrap the car because its not worth replacing the battery. Boy what a green world we are heading into.
If the naysayers are against EV due to the batteries, what about the tens of millions of common 12V batteries that fail every year? If you are against batteries, just pull that antique lead acid 12V battery out and crank your obsolete gas engines by hand!
And if the 12V battery cost 10+ grand I would. They don’t, so I buy a new one when I need one and don’t scrap the car.
They still ignore that the ICE has been in play now 100 years or more and they still break down, catch fire and and and too….but oh a new tech just 10 years old or so is all so terrible because out the gate its just not at 100%….LOL. Let em own the refineries soon too cause the world is MOVING ON! …with or without them.
Right…I’m pretty sure the overall market will have more to say on who is moving on than the media or some wishful politician, or the EV fanboys. Just ask Rivian, Lucid, and Tesla how those deep discounts and layoffs are a result of “the world MOVING ON” while the legacy automakers who have hybrids and ICEs aren’t having to resort to these measures. They ain’t dropping their prices because they are selling so hot. LOL. But keep living in your fantasy world.
A $50-100 battery, which can be replaced very easily by the owner in 10 minutes, every 5-7 years is not comparable
Is this a serious comment? You can’t make this stuff up. It cost me $50 to replace a lead acid battery in my Rav4 of which had to be done twice (with the most recent done last month). It will cost $20,000 to do it in an EV and by the time the EV is as old as my Rav is (a 2016 model) it won’t be worth anywhere near the price to replace an EV battery. At that point I am better off dumping the car in a ditch and buying a new car. There goes your green future.
Apparently a lot of readers are not very good at comprehending what they read. The article says that the cost of replacing a 13 year old battery can be up to half the value of the vehicle, NOT half the cost of the vehicle when it was new. So if you are driving a 2011 Volt or Leaf, it’s probably worth $8000 or so and if you want a brand new battery it would cost about $4000. Lots of 13 year old cars have an early death if they have a failure which requires a $4000 repair and the owner decides to scrap the car instead. As for reader John M., I am willing to guess he never has owned an EV. I have had two PHEV (plug in hybrids) and a true BEV (a Cadillac Lyriq). All 3 were delightful cars offering great value in operation and maintenance. The Lyriq, my current ‘electric’ is great. It is fast, quiet, features an elegant interior and a luxury ride with decent handling. It doesn’t handle like my Porsche, but hey, it’s a CUV. not a sports car. So far (9000 miles) it has been dependable. John M. says it’s the worst thing to happen. I would say John, your closed mind might be the worst thing to happen, and Biden would probably agree.
A quick google search of bolt battery replacement cost comes up with 16 grand. A volt has a tiny battery as does the leaf.
It depends where you go to get scammed!
MG’s are also delightful cars…………..
And a pain in the arse to maintain. I’m not saying EV’s aren’t good at what they do, it’s just there’s a time when a freakin Porsche is more affordable than a Tesla.
Which is why people who think like you are a danger to society, but that’s another conversation.
The simple fact is EVs are more expensive for a lower quality product. You liking them has nothing to do with that. You liking them does nothing to change the sheer, unpalatable insanity I’m hearing every time someone jumps up to defend an EV. EVs are not a positive thing. They’re just not. Rather you like your EVs or not.
Having Biden agree with someone is not exactly something to be proud of.
I’ve owned 3 EV with over 100k miles, NO reduction in battery range or performance! No Maintenace cost’s over the cost of couple sets of tires, Also 3 more Chev. Bolts used as company cars with exactly the same results!
So take your BS from the oil companies with an ocean full of salt, OPEC & all oil companies want you to believe your ICE vehicles are god’s gift to the planet while laughing all the way to bank. They steal our money & reducing any chance for our fragile environment to recover from the effects of fossil fuel use. if you still believe the election was stolen, over 81 million of us would likely disagree you but don’t bother comment on moronic BS!
10 year total cost of ownership:
ICE – $81,581
HEV – $74,618
BEV – $70,457
BEV with replacement battery pack – $75,157
100,000 miles is literally nothing lol. that’s warranty coverage on some cars.
So in your numbers are you including the 7500? What about the CC’s the manufacturer got to reduce their cost. My guess is you are not, nor are you discounting the gas tax you paid on the petrol you bought. In the final cost analysis you have to take away the effect all the subsidies and taxes. There is no free lunch. The government (you and me) cannot pay you to buy an EV if everyone is buying an EV. All you are doing is using your income tax to buy your EV. As it is today, you are using everyone’s income tax for the people who buy an EV. Similarly, EV’s are driving paying no road tax. Not sustainable. Some states have started to charge EV’s for their road usage, as must occur. Roads do not maintain themselves.
People are correctly noting that 30% of 2011 batteries were replaced, which is an atrocious statistic. But there is one explanation for this: the Nissan Leaf. The Leaf did not ship with battery thermal management, which tanked battery life over the course of the lifespan of the vehicle. Given that the Leaf was one of the most popular EVs in 2011, it makes sense that they disproportionately increase the statistics for battery replacements.
This is NOT to defend EV batteries but to point out how awful the Leaf truly was.
Please note that I don’t believe we have a totally established network where the material in the old batteries can be recycled.
Once this is established, the new EV battery will probably be sold with a ‘core’ charge; and when the old core is returned this should reduce the cost for the new battery.
ICE’s never fail, if they do they are so cheap to repair/replace. The emission systems never cause ck engine lights and if they do they are so ez and cheap to repair out of warranty.
Good thing gas tankers never catch fire and ruin bridges on major interstates.
So easy to point fingers at new tech problems while we dismiss all the existing 100yr + problems.
How many 13 year old cars require a complete engine change out ?
13×12,000 miles is over 150,000 miles, no problem for people who properly maintain engines, but for most drivers today? Practically nobody reads owners manuals anymore, and most people don’t know that their car needs oil changes on a regular basis.
General public hates paying for car maintenance. Far less worrying with an EV. Today’s EV Battery management systems are automatically cared for and are far better than anything electric made in 2011.
I’ve been a truck fleet mechanic my whole life, maintaining our EV is far easier than maintaining our 2021 silverado.
No more oil changes, no more oil/air filters, no more rotting exhaust systems, no long warm ups, you can pre heat your car’s interior in a closed garage, no more over heated garage in the summer. Nothing but smooth power, no notchy transmissions, no more worry of passing emission testing every year. Drive ability problems go away. These EV’S are just a pleasure to own and use and they’ll only get better.
If the maintenance on EV’s is so low then why did Hertz sell their EV fleet off?
Super92
Hertz sold off their fleet because nobody wanted to rent them and nobody wanted to rent them because the rental rate was too high in comparison to an ICE vehicle. Why do you think most people don’t rent top model vehicles from Hertz? Their too expensive!
Glad I bought a gas job, my Colorado battery took a $hit little over 800 miles
Glad your new car broke down?
Huh?
People talk about EV’s like they are some brand new technology that, given just a little more time, will show drastic improvement in battery cost, battery life and overall efficiency and that the industry will magically develop recycling capability for all components of electrical power generation and batteries. The fact is, one of the first commercially viable cars on the road was a 1903 Columbia Mark XIX and , at the turn of the 20th century, electric cars far outnumbered gas powered cars. They also had recharging stations in big cities. In 1899 Columbia joined forces with the Electric Vehicle Company and became the production leader among all U.S. makes of automobiles. They offered a complete line of EV’s all the way up to a 48 passenger bus. The Mark XIX operated on (40) two-volt Exide Batteries that made up 1500 of the car’s 2700 lbs. My point is that battery technology is far from new and it has had plenty of time to keep up with or exceed the capability of ICE vehicles. The idea that this technology will suddenly leap ahead of all else and solve all the worlds problems seems quite doubtful. All aspects of this green energy need to be considered when singing the praises of EV’s.