How much does it cost to replace an EV battery? - carsales.com.au (2024)

We all know the problem with batteries; they don’t last forever.

Y’know, like when your mobile phone won’t hold enough charge to last for a full day, or when a presentation drains your laptop and shuts down in the middle of a meeting.

Battery degradation is a frustrating counterpoint to the convenience of mobility and can virtually render portable devices useless. At which point, we either hand them down to the kids or donate them for recycling. And buy a new one.

That same ‘disposable’ perception is one of the log jams in holding back a wider audience from adopting electric vehicles. Many potential EV buyers are afraid that the battery pack will be dead within a few years and the car will be completely worthless.

Indeed, the latest tranche of carsales EV buyer data shows a populace increasingly concerned about rising petrol prices and who will happily trade brands to get into an electric vehicle, but the fear of battery replacement costs in EVs remains a barrier to entry for many.

The fourth in a series of carsales research pieces that surveys current and prospective EV owners reveals that while the cost of buying a new EV is still a significant barrier, that level of concern has decreased since the last round of research six months ago.

However, it’s the issue of high-voltage batteries that still has people most concerned, with 72 per cent of respondents concerned about the cost of replacement.

All rechargeable batteries will lose capacity over time. This is known as battery degradation.

Just a like a petrol tank, which can carry a finite amount of petrol, battery packs have a total energy capacity, which is measured in kiloWatt hours (kWh).

However, the chemical construction of the cathode – an element inside each battery cell that essentially holds (and transfers) the charged electrons – can break down over time, which reduces the amount of electricity a battery can store.

This can be caused by excessive heat when discharging electricity at high rates such as heavy acceleration or towing, when replenishing the battery using high-voltage charging infrastructure, or through damage via an impact.

In any case, it’s a little unfair to compare the battery in your phone to that in an electric vehicle.

Yes, they are very similar in their chemical structures, as most modern rechargeable battery packs use a lithium-ion compound. But the physical size of a mobile phone generally means the battery is just a single cell that throttles the flow of electricity (and therefore performance) to prevent overheating.

It also needs to be recharged more often (every day in most cases), which increases the number of charge cycles.

An EV battery is much larger and is subsequently made up of numerous cells, hence the term ‘battery pack’. This alone means that electric vehicles need to be recharged less frequently and can spread the storage (and flow) of electricity across all its cells, which reduces stress and prolongs the advent of degradation.

Some of the latest EVs have a battery pack that employs what are known as ‘buffers’, which are essentially sacrificial cells that are dedicated to degrade over time. This means the battery has a long-term ‘useable’ capacity separate to its overall capacity that ensures the vehicle has a consistent driving range during its lifecycle.

On top of all that, cars, by their very nature, move through the air when in use which keeps the battery at more stable temperatures. Most EVs also now employ some form of additional cooling systems, either by using the air-conditioning or a dedicated refrigerant loop, to further prevent the battery from overheating.

They activate these systems when on the move and while recharging too, plus have a computer-controlled battery management system that alters the flow of electricity and limits the battery from charging beyond a certain ceiling to ensure it remains stable.

With these factors combined, car-makers are able to offer greater peace of mind to EV consumers than other electronic device manufacturers.

In all likelihood, you won’t need to replace the battery in an EV for at least a decade.

And given the latest census results from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate the average age of vehicles across the country is 10.6 years, it’s unlikely you will ever need to replace your EV battery.

But in the event that you do, it’s not going to be a cheap exercise. The battery pack in an EV is the most expensive component in the vehicle, and the larger the battery the more it will cost to replace.

As a rule of thumb, global battery production costs have dropped to approximately $125/kWh, meaning for example that car-makers are buying a 100kWh battery pack for $12,500 before they’ve even dropped it into the car.

Like any other replacement part, consumers will likely pay more than double that much from a dealer in order for the car-maker to recover overheads like logistics and storage while also making some retail margin.

Most brands with EVs on sale in Australia were reluctant to provide a recommended retail price for a replacement battery pack, citing the warranty provisions as peace of mind for consumers.

But carsales has managed to source a few examples from Hyundai for its Kona Electric and from Toyota for its range of hybrids.

The former has a 64kWh lithium-ion battery and it will cost $13,465.97 before fitment and labour costs to replace it.

Toyota’s hybrid batteries are much smaller than those found in EVs and, before the latest Camry Hybrid arrived in August 2020, were cheaper Nickel Metal Hydride units. As such, they range from $2533.42 (including fitment) for the Prius to $3393.15 (including fitment) for the previous-generation Camry Hybrid.

Using those figures as a gauge, expect to pay between $12-20K for a replacement battery under 50kWh in vehicles such as the MG ZS EV, BMW i3, Nissan LEAF and MINI Cooper SE, and upwards of $50,000 in long-range prestige vehicles like the Porsche Taycan, Tesla Model S, Mercedes-Benz EQC and Audi e-tron.

While those are fairly eye-watering figures, the cost is expected to come down significantly over the next decade as production of electric cars increases.

Financial analysts predict the price of battery production will fall below $US100/kWh by 2025 – a benchmark figure that will make the cost to produce EVs on par with conventional vehicles – and to less than $US80/kWh by 2030.

What that means is battery replacement will become cheaper and a more viable option in the future.

With rapid advances in technology over the same timeframe, which should improve energy density and long-term battery health, it could mean a new battery will offer more driving range that could keep the current generation of EVs relevant for longer – and justify the value of a battery replacement.

Until then, there are ways to ensure the long-term health of your EV that could prevent ever needing to swap out the battery.

Firstly, the more often you charge a battery the more likely it is to degrade. So, unless you’re commuting from Bendigo to Burwood and back each day, you don’t need to plug it in every night.

Fewer charge cycles will reduce the likelihood of damage, so if possible only replenish the battery when it has less than 10 per cent capacity. Also, batteries will create heat when they are full, so limit its capacity when recharging to around 80 per cent.

They don’t like holding onto a lot of electricity when stationary either, so if you’re planning on leaving the EV in the garage for more than a few days then make sure the battery is around half full.

Also, monitor your charging methods and only use high-voltage DC public chargers when necessary. The high flow of electricity from these chargers naturally creates a lot of heat and can accelerate degradation.

It’s best to use an AC home charging station (between 7-22kW) and utilise the car’s on-board settings (or the car-maker’s app) to schedule overnight charging. This not only takes advantage of cheaper off-peak energy prices but allows the battery management system to properly pre-condition the battery and switch off the power flow when full.

Just as it is with a conventional car, understanding how to properly use and care for your vehicle – no matter whether it has a battery pack in its floor or an engine under its bonnet – will prolong its useable life.

Failing to do so can lead to the same result: leaving you with an expensive choice to make – replace or recycle, or hand it down to the next generation.

For everything you auto know about EVs, listen tocarsales' Watts Under the Bonnet: the electric car podcast

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