Are you old enough to remember when your parents rented their first television set ‘just in case things did not work out’? Some folk still do, although from what we’ve seen this can work out fairly expensive. Most folk would never have dreamed of renting a battery five years ago. But nowadays some drivers prefer to hire an EV battery, instead of purchasing it outright.
When Hiring an EV Battery Makes Sense
Electric auto batteries are pricey if we have to replace them. This factor is preventing many potential first-time owners from taking the dive. MIT Technology, publishing in Government Technology suggests there may be logic in putting money aside for that day.
But we never do, of course, because tomorrow never enters our minds until it arrives. Auto makers eager to hire EV batteries to their customers, would like to help us bridge the gap with a novel offering, and this is how it could work:
- The electric vehicle company is happy to sell you the battery outright with the new car.
- However, you also have the option to rent it, and swap it out when its performance fades.
- But, as MIT technology explains, this will be from a pool and not all batteries are the same.
Run the Numbers First Before You Decide
It makes sense to do a cost justification before you hire an EV battery. MIT Technology uses the following example based on a 75 kilowatt hour battery, courtesy of The Spark:
- If you included the battery in your purchase, a Nio ES8 auto would cost you roughly $58,500 in Norway.
- However, if you chose to rent the battery, you would pay around $50,000, plus a $135 monthly rental.
Payment would entitle you to several battery swaps, or a set amount of rapid recharges. Your break-even point for outright purchase would be just over 5 years. Most EV’s on the road today have an eight-to-ten year warranty on the battery.
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