ARE ELECTRIC CARS WORTHLESS ONCE THE MAIN BATTERY DIES?

You may be interested in buying an electric car but have some worries about the battery. What should you do when the battery dies? Can you replace it? Or the car becomes worthless?

Woman charges her electric car – illustrative photo. Image credit: Jenny Ueberberg via Unsplash, free license

How long do electric car batteries last?

Electric cars with large batteries, like Teslas, are designed to last the entire car’s lifespan. For example, a 100-kWh battery that lasts 1500 cycles should last approximately 675 000 km or 421 875 miles.

Most cars are no longer used after mileage like this. That means that once the battery reaches the end of its service life, your car will most likely reach the bottom of its practically useful lifespan, too.

That means that in this type of vehicles, you won’t have to worry about replacing the battery. Unless, of course, you experience some kind of technical issue that damages the energy storage. But in this case, the vehicle’s producer should replace the defective component with a new one – if your car is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty.

Electric car battery is being recharged. Image credit: Ernest Ojeh via Unsplash, free license

What about cars with smaller batteries? Are these electric vehicles worthless once the main battery dies?

Not at all. Nearly all electric vehicles are perfectly serviceable and can be repaired even if their battery dies.

Other electric cars (usually, less expensive ones) have smaller batteries that are intended to be replaced after a certain time has passed.

For example, Nissan LEAF has a 24-kWh battery, whose lifetime is around 36 000 kWh. If you presume that the average energy consumption is 15,5 kWh for 100 km, the battery should last 232 258 km or 145 161 miles. After that, the battery’s capacity is significantly reduced, typically down to the point where the energy storage loses more than 30% of its original capacity.

But in this situation, it is certainly possible to replace the battery at an adequate cost. You should also note that the total mileage for those smaller batteries is still relatively great: not many car owners drive more than 150,000 miles before switching to a new model.

An electric vehicle – illustrative photo. Image credit: redcharlie via Unsplash, free license

Good news: Battery cost is likely to go down in the future

You can also note that, currently, there are not many aged electric cars. Later, when electric cars are more popular, the price of batteries may become lower.

Historically, the cost of electric vehicle (EV) batteries has been declining at an average annual rate of around 20%.

This trend has been driven by factors such as increased production volumes, technological advancements, and reductions in the cost of battery components like lithium-ion cells. The rate of cost reduction is not linear, and there can be variations from year to year.

As the adoption of electric vehicles continues to grow and more automakers invest in battery technology, it can be expected very realistically that the cost of electric car batteries will continue to decrease.

Some projections suggest that the cost of battery-powered cars could reach a point of parity with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2030, making electric cars more affordable and competitive in the market. By this time, the relative battery price per kWh of capacity is expected to drop by approximately 50% compared to the peak in 2021 ($161/kWh vs $80/kWh).

While battery replacement can be an expensive process, it is still more cost-effective than buying a new car.