Batteries for electric cars in Australia cost more than half the amount of the car – with manufacturers revealing the eyewatering cost of replacements.
The Lexus UX electric SUV is now on sale in Australia for $82,500, but replacing its battery will cost an astonishing $43,476, the company revealed.
The brand has a 10-year warranty on its batteries, but the average car in Australia is 10 years old – meaning customers face a difficult decision a decade after buying the clean vehicle.
Manufacturers say the current price of batteries is irrelevant long term, with prices set to plummet as the technology is brought into the mainstream.
Alternative EVs including the Ford Ranger ute see replacements priced at $12,000, while cheaper hatchbacks including the Hyundai i30 sell batteries for just $6,000.
Electric vehicles come with varying warranties, which sees companies replace the battery should its capacity drop below 70 per cent within the warranty period or through 160,000kms.
Nissan, which has been selling its affordable Leaf model in Australia since 2012, told News the ‘overwhelming majority’ are still using the original battery.
The car comes with a ‘state of health’ warranty that covers five years, while its newer model has an eight-year, 160,000km warranty.
The replacement battery costs $9,990 plus the cost of labour.
‘The cost of a replacement battery after this period is purely speculative at this point as the cost of manufacturing batteries continues to decline over time,’ a spokesperson for Nissan said.
‘Given the location of the battery in the floor/chassis of the vehicle, any impact or damage that has occurred to the battery (requiring a replacement) has also come with high level of structural damage to the vehicle and therefore the vehicle is not typically repairable.’
Tesla offers an eight-year warrant for its cars, with the Model S which went on sale in 2014 now approaching the end of its coverage.
The company hasn’t disclosed the cost of its replacement.
Mercedes offer 10-year, 250,000km warranties for its EQS and EQE and eight-year, 160,000km warranties for the EQB, EQA and EQC cars.
Hyundai also promise an eight-year, 160,000km warranty for electric cars but haven’t revealed the replacement cost.
Kia give the lowest coverage to its customers, with a seven-year, 150,000 warranty for its batteries.
Extracted in full from: Electric car Australia: EV replacement batteries costing up large sums: Tesla, Nissan, Lexus | Daily Mail Online
