EV Repairs Cost More Than On Gas-Powered Vehicles And Here’s Why
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While EV prices are gradually becoming more affordable, repair costs are much higher on electric vehicles than on their gasoline-powered counterparts, according to research by Mitchell, a company specializing in collision claims and medical claims software and related insurance services.
The report by Mitchell says that in Q1 2024, repairs to an EV in the U.S. were 29 percent more expensive than the average repair to an ICE vehicle, while in Canada, the difference was even stronger, at 33 percent more expensive for battery-electric models.
In the U.S., the typical repairable claim for an ICE vehicle costs $4,703 this year. Meanwhile, the average EV repair claim was $6,066, or $1,363 than the typical fix for a gas or diesel powered vehicle. A major source of the difference is labor expense. Labor is typically billed at around $100 per hour, but while an ICE vehicle took 1.66 hours on average to fix, an EV required roughly twice the time at 3.04 hours.
Electric vehicle repairs are complicated and made more time-consuming by the presence of the vehicle’s battery. This battery is susceptible to damage during repair and can potentially present a lethal shock risk to service personnel. As a result, the battery very often needs to be de-energized or removed from the vehicle completely to carry out the repair, adding hours of painstaking effort to the task.
Contrary to the claims of both EV supporters and detractors, the write-off rate for electric and ICE vehicles is approximately the same as of early 2024. In the United States, 9.93 percent of electric vehicles are deemed a total loss following an accident, while 9.51 percent of ICE vehicles are written off. Total loss rates are 7.48 percent and 7.44 percent in Canada.
As they become more common, electric vehicles are also involved in more accidents. The number of repairable insurance claims for electric vehicles jumped by 40 percent year-over-year (and 37 percent in Canada). The claims increased to 2.26 percent in the U.S. and 3.41 percent in Canada.
Overall, the cost of EVs is getting closer to parity with ICE cars, and the “average transaction price at the end of 2023 for a new EV was $50,798, only $2,040 more than a gas-powered vehicle at $48,759.”
However, values for used electric vehicles are plummeting, falling by 30 percent compared to Q1 of 2023, while used ICE vehicle prices decreased by 3.6 percent over the same period.
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All of this makes perfect sense. When EVs cost less and are genuinely more affordable to maintain, then people will switch. Price is king.
I think you missed the whole point. Even in the future, EV’s will be more expensive to repair due to battery either being de-energized or removed prior to repair. Repair cost dovetails into insurance premium. So the article implies EV’s will always cost more to insure, which is certainly a large component of TCO. QED.
EVs will be genuinely affordable to maintain when they come with cheaper components. That is a matter of either finding cheaper processes of existing technology or developing an entirely new battery technology. Solid state batteries is one such alternative, and I suspect that might be the answer to the current price/technology woes in the industry.
As mkAtx mentioned, you’re missing the point. Labor costs are specifically mentioned–steps necessary to repair that are not necessary on ICE vehicles.
Sure part of it is that EVs currently cost more on average, and thus would need to have a greater damage claim before being “totaled,” but the other part is increased labor costs.
Resale is going to be another major obstacle many people will resist switching to EVs. Toyotas and Hondas are some of the most popular cars in the US not only because of reliability, but because they have strong resale value. Its no surprise to me that resale has now been added to the list of challenges EVs face. I have long questioned how early model Teslas would retain their values once battery degradation becomes a well known concern. Nobody wants to get stuck with a used EV with a potentially faulty battery and have to spend $20k on a new one (in many cases more than the car is even worth) much like people don’t want to get stuck with a used Land Rover or Maserati with thousands of dollars in repairs (unless you are Tyler Hoover from Hoovies Garage).
Resale is a massive problem. I’ve said before, if solid state batteries come to fruition and are inexpensive, the early adopters of liquid LI designs now have paperweights, very heavy, very expensive paperweights. The value goes to near zero practically overnight, because why would I want a 300 mi range when the new solid state will be 600? It is a fundamental issue with any new technology. The difference of course is buying a new 5G phone means tossing your old 4G phone that cost less than 700 or so. Tossing your 50 grand EV is a bit more painful I suspect for most. How do I know this. I was an early adopter of solar(2006ish). Let’s just say I’ll never get my money back. Never.
The other part of that is that the exact same vehicle will tend to have it’s MSRP reduced over time.
Both those problems will lessen as the technology matures. I suspect range will max out at about 500 or 600 miles, because beyond that they’ll just start using smaller batteries. And as production of batteries and motors ramps up, and processes become more refined, the material costs will stabilize.
Why do they keep showing that $300,000 weird supposed sedan that few will ever see let alone buy?
Few would pay half that much for it, as its features were out of date before they made the first one.
At some point mechanics are going to have to be as qualified as commercial electricians in electrical safety. These cars run on a range between 350-400 volts and that is more than enough to kill you. 480 volts will cause severe internal burns.
Every EV has a removable plug to disconnect the HV battery, so there is no danger to service the EV. No death related to such danger have been reported. But every year thousands of mechanics are injured or die due to engine fires or burns while servicing them under power. And in the 20th century, CRT equment, such as TV sets and computer terminals, had over 10 kilovolts yet no one died servicing them. I did servicing such equipment many times live.
I used to as well in high school. There is a huge difference, and if you don’t understand it, please do not service a EV. AMPS kill, volts tingle. That battery has AMPS and volts. The CRT only had volts. And it was easy to discharge as you must know. You are not going to discharge a 85KWh pack with a grounded insulated screwdriver touching the HV lead. I also did some work with medical designs in college. The spec was like less than 1V delta for anything that passed the skin barrier. We are full of conducting fluids once you break the relatively high insulation of the skin. I forget the exact number but I think less than 1ma across the heart is lethal.
It’s >10ma is considered dangerous, 100ma or above is lethal, for AC, it goes up to 300ma for DC.
Amps hurt not volts
That report is wrong because the repair cost of the Tesla models are always higher, thus distorting the real lower cost for Ford and GM electric vehicles. Ask real non-Tesla EV owners and they will reveal the true lower repair costs!
Maybe I missed it, but the part this article misses is these increased repair costs hit everyone who bothers to get insurance, because they may hit an EV and the repair costs would be higher (at least for the foreseeable future). It’s one of the reasons auto insurance has been going up the past couple of years.
The headline for this story should say “collision repairs”. Make it sound like a brake job would cost more.
Why do they keep showing that $300,000 weird supposed sedan that few will ever see let alone buy?
Few would pay half that much for it, as its features were out of date before they made the first one.
So an article written by GM is somehow not biased? Come on dont fall for this lie.
Has anyonw mentioned “TRADE IN” value on an EV 5 years old ? Just curious as if I were to purchase a new or used one. Don’t see many on previously owned Dealership lots . If the average battery life is 7 years then whats a 50K EV worth after 5 years ?
does it make sense to purchase a used EV ? You may be purchasing a “PROJECT” nearing EOL needing major expensive repairs. Just curious.
In early 2024 I reluctantly traded in my excellent 2019 VOLT with about 55,000 miles on it, getting $16,279 on the trade in- which I thought was also excellent. Bought a 2023 new barebones BOLT EV. With $7500 fed pos and $2000 state pos rebates, ended up, including taxes and fees, writing a cheque for $3,450. But I got a car that was 4 years and 11 months newer for pin money.
Batteries have stabilized to the point where, at least in GM products they last a long time. My 2014 PHEV CADDY ELR was 9 years old when I traded it in – getting $15,000 for a 96,000 mile vehicle, also somewhat unbelievably – but then used car prices were stratospheric. But the propulsion battery still had about 80% of its life, and still working on the original 12 volt lead acid battery.
BEVs and PHEVs of the future will have even longer lives due to the larger sizes providing fewer charge/discharge cycles. over the life of the battery.