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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsScratched EV battery? Your insurer may have to junk the whole car
Scratched EV battery? Your insurer may have to junk the whole car
By Nick Carey, Paul Lienert and Sarah McFarlane
LONDON/DETROIT (Reuters) -For many electric vehicles, there is no way to repair or assess even slightly damaged battery packs after accidents, forcing insurance companies to write off cars with few miles - leading to higher premiums and undercutting gains from going electric. And now those battery packs are piling up in scrapyards in some countries, a previously unreported and expensive gap in what was supposed to be a "circular economy."
"We're buying electric cars for sustainability reasons," said Matthew Avery, research director at automotive risk intelligence company Thatcham Research. "But an EV isn't very sustainable if you've got to throw the battery away after a minor collision."
Battery packs can cost tens of thousands of dollars and represent up to 50% of an EV's price tag, often making it uneconomical to replace them. While some automakers like Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co said they have made battery packs easier to repair, Tesla Inc has taken the opposite tack with its Texas-built Model Y, whose new structural battery pack has been described by experts as having "zero repairability."
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
By Nick Carey, Paul Lienert and Sarah McFarlane
LONDON/DETROIT (Reuters) -For many electric vehicles, there is no way to repair or assess even slightly damaged battery packs after accidents, forcing insurance companies to write off cars with few miles - leading to higher premiums and undercutting gains from going electric. And now those battery packs are piling up in scrapyards in some countries, a previously unreported and expensive gap in what was supposed to be a "circular economy."
"We're buying electric cars for sustainability reasons," said Matthew Avery, research director at automotive risk intelligence company Thatcham Research. "But an EV isn't very sustainable if you've got to throw the battery away after a minor collision."
Battery packs can cost tens of thousands of dollars and represent up to 50% of an EV's price tag, often making it uneconomical to replace them. While some automakers like Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co said they have made battery packs easier to repair, Tesla Inc has taken the opposite tack with its Texas-built Model Y, whose new structural battery pack has been described by experts as having "zero repairability."
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
More at: https://news.yahoo.com/scratched-ev-battery-insurer-may-050459910.html
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Scratched EV battery? Your insurer may have to junk the whole car (Original Post)
PSPS
Mar 2023
OP
Shermann
(7,411 posts)1. Repairability and durability can have an inverse relationship sometimes
The structural battery pack is less likely to take damage in the first place. I don't think we know which EV design will have the lowest total cost of ownership.
roamer65
(36,745 posts)2. Lithium + Water equals bad, bad, bad.
It does produce a beautiful crimson flame though.
ProfessorGAC
(64,985 posts)3. It's Right Exciting!
I've played with alkali metals. I actually worked with them, too!
roamer65
(36,745 posts)4. Lithium is colorful.
Sodium is a downright bang to play around with.
ProfessorGAC
(64,985 posts)5. You Bet
I'd guess a quarter of all chemists have run the Lassaigne's Test. Nothing like adding pure sodium or lithium to an unknown organic compound! Gets REALLY hot.
MichMan
(11,900 posts)6. I can see insurance for an EV to start going up significantly