Pete Colan writes for the American Thinker about the latest revelations involving electric vehicles.
An EV will likely not exceed five digits on the odometer because the cost to replace the battery in the typical 10-year span of a battery life will exceed the vehicle’s resale value, therefore making it economically impractical.
Other authors have all cited valid facts about the impracticality of charging these things on long trips, the stress they will add to a fragile electric grid, the lack of enthusiasm in this country for adding additional reliable energy power plants, etc. None of this has made me want to rush right out and buy an EV, but just for the sake of developing a more complete picture, let’s peel another layer off the onion.
It should come as no surprise that insurance costs are also higher, not only because of their higher sticker price but because of the cost of specialty parts (including batteries), the lack of a specially-trained workforce to fix them, and the possibility that even a younger vehicle may be totaled if there was a damaged battery simply because of the cost of the battery.
Progressive Insurance sums it up nicely:
“Insurance costs for EVs and hybrid cars can be higher than for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles largely because they can be more expensive to repair and replace. For example, a new EV battery ranges between $4,000 and $20,000 depending on the make and model of your EV, compared to $100-200 for an ICE car battery. If the battery of an EV is damaged in an accident, that’s a significantly more expensive replacement cost.” …
… I asked our fire chief recently how they would handle an EV fire. His answer, because of the unique danger a battery fire poses, since there’s not enough water to extinguish it, and the lack of any recommended protocol from the US Fire Administration or any other resource, is to “try to isolate it and let it burn out.”
