Viable repair of used electric vehicle (EV) batteries is “within reach” for car retailers, members of the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) heard at their first meeting of 2025 (on 6 Feb).
David Gray from Cox Automotive’s EV Battery Solutions told the audience that depending on the model and the battery technology in question, there was a real possibility that the car could be repaired for sale by manufacturer approved specialists.
“When it comes to EV batteries, there is a huge amount of work going on around reuse, recycling, remanufacturing and repair, but it’s really in the last two areas that the biggest strides are being made.
“It doesn’t work for all battery technologies or for all types of damage, but there are instances now where we can carry out viable, economic repairs that will allow dealers to retrieve cars into saleable condition. It’s within reach.
“Our belief is that this situation will improve quite quickly. However, it must be pointed out that a repairable battery design tends to be a more expensive one, and the technology used by some manufacturers creates issues.”
The meeting took place at the Meriden, Warwickshire offices of VRA member epyx on Thursday 6th February and speakers also included Ashley Minors of motor trade insurance specialist Boswell Aftermarket, talking about his company’s experience with EV battery repair technology, as well wider motor insurance trends.
He said: “There’s an argument that the insurance sector writes off EVs too easily and the perceived cost and difficulty of battery repair and replacement is very much part of this issue.
“Some insurers are doing progressive work in this area though, such as creating training schemes to ensure greater availability of battery specialists who can carry out repairs, while partnering with battery recyclers where repair is not possible.
“It’s all part of a general effort on the part of insurers to help minimise the cost of EV premiums and claims. As more and more data on EV operation is accumulated, and knowledge on EV repair shared, they can make more informed underwriting decisions.”
Also, Anthea Coulter of Equiniti covered the practical aspects of managing the recent court of appeal decision on motor finance DCAs for the remarketing sector. She said: “What is important for the industry now is a high degree of clarity from the Supreme Court and then from the FCA’s subsequent consultation and final advice. At that point, motor finance companies and dealers could hopefully be in a position to send out letters of redress, if needed, late in 2025 or early in 2026. It’s a question of not just having the right processes in place today but being ready at that moment to take action to progress what may be large numbers of consumer complaints in a timely and transparent manner.”
Finally, Chris Plumb of cap hpi provided an overview of the current state of the new and used car and van markets, predicting that 2025 was likely to be a stable year in the sector, although small increases in supply would probably see some slightly larger falls in values towards the end of the year.
“In the final analysis, 2024 the wholesale market had shown remarkable resilience in last year, driven by reduced supply in the 3 to 5-year-old vehicle segment and steady consumer demand, the stability led to lower volatility in used car prices. We’ve seen a steady start to 2025 and you could in one sense say that the sector is returning to a kind of normality. However, it’s also apparent that a lot is going on below the surface, with quite large variations in values between different fuel types and models.”
Philip Nothard, chair at the VRA, said: “As more and more EVs start to appear on the used market, the possibility of battery repair is becoming an increasingly salient topic. Obviously, the cost of replacing a damaged battery is prohibitive and will often lead to a vehicle being scrapped. The emergence of cost-effective repair solutions is therefore something of genuine interest to the remarketing sector and the briefings we received at this meeting provided some cause for optimism.”
Further details about attending VRA meetings can be obtained by emailing info@thevra.co.uk.