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How Much Does It Cost to Replace an Electric Car Battery: A Study Assures They Can Already Be Repaired

If you own an electric car, you're probably familiar with how much it can cost to replace the battery. A few months ago, a report published in France by L'argus revealed the cost of Renault electric car batteries. According to this research, the cost of a battery, depending on the vehicle, manufacturer, chemistry, or capacity, can even reach more than half the price of an electric car. It's understandable, then, that one of the biggest fears of an electric car owner is having to replace a damaged battery with a new one.

However, as we'll see below, the reality may be less pessimistic if we consider a recent report by Autocraft EV Solutions, a company specializing in batteries, which shows that most problems are located in specific modules rather than the entire battery pack. What's more, according to this same study, by 2030, replacing the entire battery of an electric car will already be cheaper than repairing an internal combustion engine.

Most batteries can be repaired... According to several studies, the battery represents between 30 and 50% of the total cost of an electric car, making it one of the most expensive components in the vehicle. Typically, the price of a battery is around €10,000.

And although the chances of having to replace an electric car's battery are quite low, the study conducted by Autocraft indicates the possibility of repairing only the damaged cells, restoring up to 90% of the original performance without having to replace the entire battery.

After performing more than 500 repairs in 2024, Autocraft has concluded that only an average of 1.1 modules per battery need to be replaced to restore optimal performance. This avoids having to "throw away" useful cells. For Michael-Hague Morgan, the company's CEO, this is "good news because we already know that most electric vehicle battery failures can be fixed."

Furthermore, and looking more long-term, when millions of electric cars are on our roads, this practice will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 93%, or in other words, will avoid 12 tons of carbon per repaired battery.

The price of batteries will continue to fall... Another study conducted by Recurrent, and supported by forecasts by Goldman Sachs, indicates that the cost per kWh of batteries will fall to $80 in 2026, half of what it was in 2023. And by 2030, this price could drop to $64, or even lower thanks to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which already sell for $75.3 per kWh.

In practice, this would equate to a total cost of between €3,200 and €4,800 to replace a complete battery, very similar to repairing an internal combustion engine. For example, replacing a complete battery of around 90-100 kWh would cost around €5,000.

According to Goldman Sachs, more than 40% of the drop in battery prices is due to the lower prices of raw materials such as lithium and cobalt. This is also due to the fact that major manufacturers such as CATL and BYD are drastically lowering their prices. Thus, an oversupply of batteries is expected until 2028, which will further lower their prices.

Autonews