People who bought a first-generation electric vehicle (EV) can expect to spend around R175,000 to replace their old batteries in 2025.
This is according to Adam Saiyad, the founder of EV battery replacement firm Custom Lithium.
It’s important to note that the need to replace an EV battery is an issue that most EV drivers in South Africa needn’t concern themselves with.
Electric cars are still a relatively new concept in the motoring world, but the technology has rapidly improved with each generation of vehicles to the point that newer batteries have exceptional lifespans.
Several models have racked up more than 500,000km on their original power cells and still have a state-of-health (SOH) factor of well over 70%.
Another reassurance for customers that that manufacturers offer free battery replacements if the SOH drops below 70% to 80% of its original capacity within the first eight years of use.
However, first-generation EVs like the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 are starting to show their age, which means that early adopters of the tech may be due for a battery change.
Saiyad told MyBroadband he has performed about 12 EV battery upgrades for various vehicles since 2022. The most frequent patient has been the Nissan Leaf.
The upside is that owners have an opportunity to not just restore their car’s battery, but to upgrade it to provide an even better range.
When the Leaf was first introduced, buyers were stuck with a 24kWh block that only had around 120km on tap.
Thanks to improvements in battery tech, it’s now possible to install a same-size battery with a much higher capacity of 40kWh – enough to do 400km.
Saiyad claimed a customer came to him with a Leaf with a range of just 56km on its original battery.
He swapped this for a 62kWh unit, increasing the car’s range to 445km.
On one long distance trip travelling at an average speed of 100km/h, Saiyad covered 282km on 70% of the Leaf’s battery.
That works out to an effective range of 403km in freeway driving.
The cost of progress
Upgrading an EV’s battery is certainly beneficial, but it is not cheap.
Batteries are the single most expensive component of an electric car, making up 30% to 50% of the final retail price.
The good news is that the price of batteries and dropped substantially in the past few years.
Saiyad explained that when they started doing EV upgrades, it cost around R300,000 to install a 62kWh pack in the Nissan Leaf.
To put this in context, the Leaf originally sold for R446,000.
Adjusted for inflation, the Nissan would cost around R652,369, meaning the battery is around half the value of the car.
The smaller 40kWh cell, meanwhile, had a cost of around R220,000.
However, Custom Lithium claims it has starting building its own 40kWh batteries, which cost R185,000.
The packs are imported from China, Europe, and the US and fitted according to strict battery safety requirements, including support for vibration attenuation on wiring looms and crimping all wires.
Despite its increased capacity, the improved energy density of the new batteries means they are 20kg lighter than the old ones while offering better range.
Saiyad stated that they are now working on a 70kWh battery that will cost R175,000 while providing four times the range of the original ones.
There is not a lot of demand for EV battery replacements in South Africa at the moment, given that EVs still make up a fraction of the cars on the roads, but early adopters have shown interest in Custom Lithium’s services.
It’s also worth noting that EVs have far less moving parts than an equivalent combustion engine model, which means they require very little routine maintenance over their lifetime.
So while the cost of a new battery may seem exorbitant, the true cost is lower once you factor in the money saved on car services and other replacement parts.
For individuals who bought an early EV and are still happy with their purchase, a new battery may seem like a better alternative than buying another car.
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