We encourage readers to ask questions about pure electric vehicles, charging, and anything else you want to know. So please send them to us and we will let our experts respond and invite others to contribute via the comment section.

I have a question about the cost of replacing an Australian BEV battery. Is the manufacturer's recommendation that the life before replacement is necessary? This topic is a key consideration that many buyers care about before buying BEV.

Hi Andrew, yes, the question of when to replace electric car batteries and the costs involved are important-but maybe not as much as the public thinks.

First of all: I will divide the question into two parts.

To answer this question, two questions need to be explored:

First, a large percentage of manufacturers guarantee that their batteries will have at least 70% capacity remaining after 8 years. For Hyundai Kona, which travels 450-500 kilometers around town, this is equivalent to a minimum mileage of 315-350 kilometers at the age of 8.

For many people, if not most people-this means charging twice a week instead of once a week. The same is true for long-distance travel-for example, you may stop at a few more charging stations on the way between Sydney and Brisbane.

It is also important to realize that the battery will not "die" at 8 years, but only reduces the mileage it can provide.

Please note that the smaller the battery pack, the more serious the loss. For example, the early Nissan Leafs had a cruising range of only 120 kilometers in the real world. This means that during the 8-year warranty period, it may drop to 84 kilometers and is not eligible for warranty replacement.

So far, the oldest Leaf here is 11 years old, and at this rate of descent, their range may drop to 70 kilometers. (It's even lower in winter, and/or if heating/air conditioning systems are used). If you use it for a short commute to a local store, it's definitely a replacement time!

On the other hand, while many early (2011-2014) Leaf did decline at these (or worse) rates, modern EV batteries (with improved battery chemistry and thermal management systems) don’t seem to decline that fast—so These declines in range are the worst-case scenario.

In fact, a study conducted by Geotab (https://www.geotab.com/blog/ev-battery-health/) of approximately 6,000 electric vehicle owners in 2019 found that electric vehicles lose an average of 2.3% of their capacity each year And maintain a "high level of sustained long-term health."

To quote the report: "If the observed degradation rate remains the same, the life of the vast majority of batteries will exceed the life of the vehicle." Given that this is an average that includes many early electric vehicles-use their online tool to Isolating the different models shows that many later models exhibit significantly lower than average degradation rates.

Summary (a): For people who buy current models of electric vehicles with larger batteries, most people will find that it may take 10 years or more to replace the batteries.

In addition, as the previous ICE car eventually disappears/the children grow up, etc., the EV may be downgraded to the second car for local travel. For daily driving, it is likely to have an 8-year warranty (if any) in the past few years before the new battery is really needed.

So, when will the electronic equipment, suspension, steering system and interior of an electric car "wear" enough to say that the car has reached the end of its service life?

Given that the average age of the Australian fleet is 10.6 years (2020-2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics), 20 years seems to be a reasonable guess-this is a number I heard recently to explain why we should set 2030 If we hope to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, then the sales of new ICE cars will increase.

Therefore, to answer question (a) above, one can say:

In the early days of Nissan Leaf, horror stories about the rapid decline of the battery and the $30,000 plus battery replacement cost abound. It turns out that these are unnecessary worries. During the 8-year warranty period, batteries that fall faster than they should be replaced free of charge.

Now that the 8-year warranty has expired, we found that the cost of the replacement battery installed by the dealer has dropped to about $10,000 for a 24kWh battery.

In addition, when the defective battery pack was returned to the factory, it was found that many of the battery packs had only a few defective batteries, and the rest were okay.

Therefore, in countries where early Leaf sales were large (that is, not in Australia)-the battery recycling program has begun, disassembling and repacking the batteries into guaranteed remanufactured battery packs. In Japan, the price of a reconstruction package for ZE0 or AZEO Leaf is approximately US$2,900 (approximately AU$4,000).

In addition, because these cars fell off the road due to accidents-private companies can use ready-made second-hand batteries for experiments. As a result, some have begun to offer after-sales replacement (and in some cases upgrades) battery packs*.

At the same time, the price of the battery, the main cost component of BEV, has been falling sharply in the same way that the price of solar panels fell in the early 2000s. In 2010, the price of electric vehicle batteries rose by approximately US$1,100/kWh, but has now fallen to US$137/kWh. (See Figure 1. Note the dollar amount used).

It is estimated that the key figure for the price parity of BEV and ICE is $100/kWh, and 2024 is the date when it may start to happen.

Look at Figure 1-if the cost per kilowatt-hour is already US$137 and BNEF predicts that it will reach US$58/kWh by 2030, then current electric vehicles may begin to need new batteries, which cost about US$4000. 64kWh Kona battery packs ( $5,400) very likely.

If applied to the original Leaf, this would be consistent with the price and drop seen in Figure 1.

However-back to the answer provided for part (a) of this question: that battery is unlikely to need to be replaced. In fact, it may last until the life of the car. For example, Tesla's recommendation that a "million-mile battery" (lasting one million miles-equivalent to 1.6 million kilometers) is not far away.

I hope this helps answer your question Andrew?

* I am currently writing an article about battery replacement options for iMiEV and ZE0/AZEO Leafs in Australia.

Bryce Gaton is an electric vehicle expert and a writer for The Driven and Renew Economy. He has been working in the field of electric vehicles since 2008 and is currently an electric vehicle electrical safety trainer/supervisor at the University of Melbourne. He also supports EV Transition for businesses, governments and the public through his EV Transition consulting company EVchoice.

I agree to the terms of use

Enter your search keywords and press Enter.