The Automotive market is progressively shifting to the electrification of vehicles. Like all new technologies, maintenance costs are very important. Let's find out how much it costs to replace electric car batteries and what needs to be done.

Electric cars are still few in the totality of the car landscape, but all in all, more and more people are wondering how much it costs to replace an electric battery. We all know that car maintenance is a very important, delicate and often costly aspect.

A simple car service to replace the oil filter and any other small components, has a significant cost for an Italian family. A reflection in line with the times is to ask how much it costs to replace the battery of an electric car.

The latter are in fact the present and the future of mobility, but currently they are still quite expensive in this respect.

First of all we must underline that every car manufacturer at the time of the sale of a car has a form of insurance and guarantee for electric batteries.

Electric batteries are currently made of lithium-ion and are in the process of transforming into solid-state batteries in the next few years.

The size of the battery is an important factor, both in the sense of volumetric size and in the ability to make a certain mileage range available.

The cost of electric batteries varies according to both the Brand, but also the quality of the battery itself. Batteries are not all the same and also change depending on the technology connected to them.

The costs are very high, not to say exorbitant. To better understand, we can talk about a Nissan Leaf, for which the cost of the battery is around € 8,500. If it may seem high to you, we must consider that the most important cars in terms of size and battery capacity, have much higher battery costs. If we had bought an electric version of the Golf, the replacement of the battery pack would go beyond € 20,000.

These costs, although inclusive of labor and VAT, are very high and difficult to sustain by a family.

However, the sophisticated battery technology of electric cars must not be equated with that of traditional batteries found on diesel or petrol cars, where they are used for starting and operating a whole series of other car components, such as for example the radio or the infotainement system.

Continuing with our roundup, for those who own an electric Smart, the replacement price of the batteries is about € 11,000 for the ForTwo. We are talking about a battery price that is almost half the cost of the car. And for those who need space and choose the ForFour, also in this case the price is no different: it is always around 11 thousand euros.

Other examples? The legendary Citroen C-ZERO has a cost of replacing the electric battery of about 20 thousand euros. An enormous figure compared to the value of the car, one of the first to be marketed in Italy and Europe.

We must say, however, that all in all the battery of an electric car is a large part of it. The starting point and the capacity for autonomy totally depend on it.

This is why the price is justified after all, but very often it is difficult to deal with by ordinary people.

As for the procedures, basically everything is up to the automotive manufacturers. As we have said, during the purchase phase of an electric car, the vast majority receive a guarantee of at least 8 or 10 years.

In this way, car manufacturers protect themselves from customers and the latter are protected in daily life. We must therefore not worry and we must not think that we have to spend this money.

Cases of a private individual having to replace the battery are rare and very serious; you can count on the palm of your hand throughout Italy.

For those who want to approach the world of sustainable mobility, however, remember that an electric car is not maintenance-free! Not having a heat engine does not mean not having to subject the car to routine maintenance. Think for example of the controls for the shock absorbers, brakes, tires, wishbones and other components that are indispensable for the ordinary use of a car.

Making a direct comparison between traditional cars and electric cars, the latter are decidedly cheaper with an average saving of around 40-45% depending on the model, as regards maintenance.

A maintenance that, however, must be done every year, for the vast majority of electric cars currently on the market. To keep the entire system efficient, individual car manufacturers are asking owners to keep the focus on controls.

As this is a "new" technology, car manufacturers are keen to continually improve their batteries. We also remind you that the current batteries will be progressively replaced by solid state batteries, which should be widespread starting from around 2024/2025. It will be a real revolution in terms of autonomy and charging speed.

Returning to the world of hybrids, in terms of the number of hours required to carry out maintenance, there are no substantial differences between thermal vehicles (petrol or diesel) and hybrids. Much depends in this case also on the number of recalls issued by the individual manufacturers. For example, if we take the small Yaris , comparing the hybrid version with the traditional one, after 15,000 km traveled the cost is always around 200 euros per year, and the same also applies to the Lexus NX which has a cost similar to its own direct competitor such as it can be a thermal Mercedes medium SUV. Suzuki swift ? Also in this case there are no substantial differences between hybrid and petrol. To conclude the comparison, even between gasoline and electric Golf , there are no important differences for maintenance.

And Tesla? Being a premium car through and through, it has premium car maintenance costs. The Californian company no longer obliges its customers to carry out checks every year, but those who buy a Tesla can probably afford to spend the necessary for optimal maintenance.

Why choose hybrids or electric then? Not to save on maintenance!