Quote:
Originally Posted by Piotrsko
There's a bunch of battery rebuilders on the web, imho, pretty decent cheap. Somebody pops up to offer odd services all the time
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Piotrsko
There's a bunch of battery rebuilders on the web, imho, pretty decent cheap. Somebody pops up to offer odd services all the time
|
True, which gives some hope for cars like the Nissan Leaf. On the other hand, if hybrid batteries (NiMH) are anything to go by there's a good chance that even those will flop. The OEM battery for a Prius, for an example, lasts some 12 to 15 years or better. But the replacement is $2,000 or better. An aftermarket or refurbished battery can go for $600. But from the experiences I've read, don't expect to get more than a year or two out of one of those batteries. There have only been a few that have gotten lucky and get 3 or 4 years or of one, but that's about as good as it gets.
Now compare that to a full sized EV battery. The 24kWh OEM Nissan Leaf battery costs some $8,000 and has only gone up in price even before COVID-19. We have yet to see if cheaper-per-kWh aftermarket solutions will actually last.
Then add to that the structural aspect we're talking about. There have been a few Tesla owners who have had a single battery module go out and Tesla now won't replace just the module. Thankfully some have figured out how to do it and have saved themselves the cost of a whole new battery. There are similar stories with Prii and Leafs.
But with a structurally battery the whole thing is one module! Now what?! Replacing just the bad cells will be very prohibitive.
My thought is that they need to get battery technology to where it lasts for several decades before trying to make them a disposable integrated part of the vehicle. How long does the average car last including all owners? I see lots of 30 year old cars still perfectly fine to drive. Making an EV that breaks after some 10 years and costs more to repair than a new car is a bad idea IMO. The cost of used cars would soar and people would be forced to buy new if they want to drive at all.
Then again, maybe having less people driving would be a good thing.