The Audi is at the far high end of that cost. Not surprising for the German brand. Hyundai IONIQ 5 (one of the most popular EVs outside of Tesla) are closer to $10k. Even the Volkswagen ID.4 is looking closer to $25k.
Count up literally everything. Oil changes. New spark plugs. Coolant flushes. Transmission flushes. EVs using regen braking tend to put less wear on the brakes, and hybrids were already looking at brakes being on there for the life of the car, so add brake changes, too. Even if you do your own work, you should be counting a reasonable hourly rate in there for your time. A huge amount of maintenance just plain goes away with EVs.
If you don’t believe me, find a PDF of an owner’s manual for the the recommended maintenance schedule on an EV and compare it to ICE. Dealerships are doing that, and they do not like the results at all. Takes a whole lot business away from them. In fact, some of the stuff listed almost feels like it was stuck in there just so dealers would have something for their mechanics to do.
The maintenance schedule on my bz4x wants to bring it in every 5000 miles to check that all the nuts are torqued down and the tires haven’t fallen off.
Add on to that EV batteries in real use are lasting a lot longer than expected. This is maybe not surprising. Lab testing is done by charging and discharging many times sequentially and extrapolating those results. If anything, that’s much harsher than real world conditions.
All that, even over 10 or 20 years, is still less than a single battery. And the battery is an unexpected one time cost when the stuff you mentioned is mostly expected.
I base my ICE maintenance and repair cost expectations off Audi, BMW and Mercedes, why would I look at Hyundai or VW for EV repair costs?
And the battery is an unexpected one time cost when the stuff you mentioned is mostly expected.
Nope, not how it works at all. It doesn’t just stop working. It slowly loses its top end power over time. In fact, when you pull it, it’s still good for other things like home power storage.
Battery failure is unpredictable and the charge capacity can take an absolute nosedive over just a few months after years of being completely ok. There’s a reason there’s no standard model for battery wear
When we analyzed EV battery health in 2019, we found that EV batteries degraded, on average, at a rate of 2.3% per year. However, a new 2024 analysis reveals a significant improvement: EV batteries now degrade at an average of 1.8% per year. This improvement highlights ongoing advancements in battery technology and durability.
According to Geotab research, EV batteries could last 20 years or more if degradation continues at this improved rate. This is particularly encouraging for fleet operators under pressure to reduce CO2 emissions.
In all likelihood, the car will be replaced for other reasons before battery range drops too far.
Interesting, stark difference from lithium batteries then.
1.8% per year is still way too much over 10 years though, let alone 20. People only talk about EVs as new cars, but people forget most people can’t afford to buy brand new cars.
The Audi is at the far high end of that cost. Not surprising for the German brand. Hyundai IONIQ 5 (one of the most popular EVs outside of Tesla) are closer to $10k. Even the Volkswagen ID.4 is looking closer to $25k.
Count up literally everything. Oil changes. New spark plugs. Coolant flushes. Transmission flushes. EVs using regen braking tend to put less wear on the brakes, and hybrids were already looking at brakes being on there for the life of the car, so add brake changes, too. Even if you do your own work, you should be counting a reasonable hourly rate in there for your time. A huge amount of maintenance just plain goes away with EVs.
If you don’t believe me, find a PDF of an owner’s manual for the the recommended maintenance schedule on an EV and compare it to ICE. Dealerships are doing that, and they do not like the results at all. Takes a whole lot business away from them. In fact, some of the stuff listed almost feels like it was stuck in there just so dealers would have something for their mechanics to do.
The maintenance schedule on my bz4x wants to bring it in every 5000 miles to check that all the nuts are torqued down and the tires haven’t fallen off.
Add on to that EV batteries in real use are lasting a lot longer than expected. This is maybe not surprising. Lab testing is done by charging and discharging many times sequentially and extrapolating those results. If anything, that’s much harsher than real world conditions.
All that, even over 10 or 20 years, is still less than a single battery. And the battery is an unexpected one time cost when the stuff you mentioned is mostly expected.
I base my ICE maintenance and repair cost expectations off Audi, BMW and Mercedes, why would I look at Hyundai or VW for EV repair costs?
Nope, not how it works at all. It doesn’t just stop working. It slowly loses its top end power over time. In fact, when you pull it, it’s still good for other things like home power storage.
Battery failure is unpredictable and the charge capacity can take an absolute nosedive over just a few months after years of being completely ok. There’s a reason there’s no standard model for battery wear
Nope not how it works at all. It drops off slowly:
https://www.geotab.com/CMS-Media-production/Blog/NA/December_2019/battery_degradation/ev-battery-degradation-tesla-models-vs-nissan-leaf.png
Here’s the complete study: https://www.geotab.com/blog/ev-battery-health/
In all likelihood, the car will be replaced for other reasons before battery range drops too far.
Interesting, stark difference from lithium batteries then.
1.8% per year is still way too much over 10 years though, let alone 20. People only talk about EVs as new cars, but people forget most people can’t afford to buy brand new cars.
Those are lithium batteries. This stuff isn’t degrading as fast in the real world as was initially found.
A 350 mile car would become a 280 mile car in 10 years. It’s sufficient for 95% of drivers.