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Electric car sales\u00a0already are\u00a0in a funk<\/a>\u00a0in key markets around the globe. Challenges finding enough repair technicians threatens to further stifle\u00a0demand in the UK, where consumer uptake has stagnated for the better part of two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n A dearth of mechanics trained to handle\u00a0the most advanced EV fixes is helping to drive up repair costs, according to insurers and repair companies\u00a0like the\u00a0AA, which provides roadside assistance across the UK. Add in expenses like\u00a0long wait times for replacement parts, and underwriters are opting to\u00a0total cars with relatively benign damage \u2014 prematurely consigning electric models to the junk heap.\u00a0<\/p>\n A seemingly simple crash that damages the battery or the\u00a0compartment housing it \u201ccan cause a complete write-off of the vehicle,\u201d said Marco Distefano, managing director of insurer Axa SA\u2019s UK retail division. \u201cUltimately, that pushes up the price of insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n Fewer than 10% of the UK\u2019s 236,000 auto\u00a0mechanics are qualified to work directly on EV batteries or their cases, according to the\u00a0Institute of the Motor Industry, which provides training and certification. While many technicians can perform less-demanding tasks, the most challenging repairs require extra training, given the complexity of the circuits and risk of electrocution.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe ante is risen quite a lot because you are dealing with no mistakes really,\u201d\u00a0Darren Naughton, an AA trainer, said during a visit in Birmingham. \u201cIt\u2019s instant death on these systems.\u201d<\/p>\n Drivers\u00a0are also concerned that a collision is more likely to lead to an EV writeoff, according to UK\u00a0consultants Thatcham Research. Long lead-times for deliveries and a shortage of functioning charge points are also holding back demand for the environmentally friendly vehicles, it said in a report last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n With 1 million EVs on the roads already, the crunch is forecast to get worse. Repair shops are starting to train up staff, but the UK will still be short by about 30,000 qualified technicians by\u00a02035, when a ban on the sale of new combustion vehicles takes effect, according to IMI estimates.<\/p>\n UK sales of battery-electric vehicles have\u00a0tread water<\/a>\u00a0as a share of the market since 2022. They\u00a0stood at 15% in March, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders. Insurance costs are\u00a0double<\/a>\u00a0those of conventional vehicles, Bloomberg reported in January.<\/p>\n Other factors are helping to skew insurers\u2019\u00a0once-straightforward decision on whether to repair or replace a car after an accident.\u00a0Replacement parts are expensive and take longer to arrive from abroad, adding to downtimes for damaged cars and driving up ancillary costs like car rentals.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the settlement cost approaches or exceeds the value of the vehicle, the insurer will typically take\u00a0ownership and either scrap it,\u00a0break it up for parts, or fix and sell it again if the damage is minimal.\u00a0UK auto dismantler Synetiq has seen\u00a0a 55% increase in electric car and van disposals over the past year, it said on its its\u00a0website<\/a>. It\u2019s set up an operation to recycle\u00a0expensive battery materials like lithium and nickel.\u00a0<\/p>\n High repair costs have long dogged EV makers like\u00a0Tesla<\/a> Inc., which lacks the dedicated service network of traditional car manufacturers.\u00a0Hertz Global Holdings<\/a> Inc., the US rental-car giant, had to junk Teslas when the cost of fixing easily damaged items like radar assemblies sent repair costs through the roof.<\/p>\n Many of the cars being disassembled or crushed in the UK are\u00a0fixable, according to Lee Houston, EV technical liaison engineer at the AA. As soon as a battery is dented or marked, \u201cit\u2019s a replacement, which will write the car off\u201d at a cost of \u00a315,000 ($19,000) to \u00a320,000, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other\u00a0countries have dealt more effectively with the challenges. In Germany, Europe\u2019s largest car market, the lack of skilled workers is less pronounced than in the UK, according to ADAC, the country\u2019s prime supplier of roadside services.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no issue with EV competence in Norway, where\u00a082% of new cars sold last year were electric, said a spokesman for the Norwegian Automobile Federation, though there is a general shortage of mechanics. In Sweden, mechanics\u2019 EV skills are\u00a0improving fast, said the Swedish Association for Motor Retail Trades and Repairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the added training\u00a0required to fix an EV battery doesn\u2019t come cheap, the UK\u2019s challenges aren\u2019t insurmountable. Axa UK put the cost at about \u00a32,500 per mechanic for four days of training \u2014 doable for larger chains, though smaller shops will need to decide whether to take the plunge.<\/p>\n At Kwik Fit, one of the largest UK car-servicing groups, just 15 out of about 1,500 technicians\u00a0meet the Level 3 or Level 4 standard required to\u00a0repair EV battery cells and modules.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ben Boot, Kwik Fit\u2019s head of development for service, maintenance and repair, expects the job to eventually attract a wider pool of candidates more comfortable with diagnostics and electrical engineering concepts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s still an element of the fear of the unknown when it comes to battery repair and getting into the repair of individual cells and modules,\u201d Boot said. Once there are more fully trained EV technicians, \u201crepair rather than replace becomes a more viable proposition.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSubscribe to the Eye on AI newsletter to stay abreast of how AI is shaping the future of business. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n