Automotive: ICE cars last 12 years, EVs sold or junked after 4

Car dealerships could win big in the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles (EVs) due to their greater need for repairs and short lifespans, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Electric Vehicles spend much less time on the road before being replaced compared to gas vehicles due to battery degradation, insurers often preferring to replace EVs rather than repair them and rapid technological advancement, according to the WSJ. More frequent car replacements and higher repairs as more EVs hit the road could mean more sales for car dealerships.

“The incremental improvement you see every year on [gas cars] is relatively small,” Philipp Kampshoff, a senior partner at McKinsey, a top consulting firm, told the WSJ. “When you look at incremental improvement on EV technology, that’s actually quite phenomenal, especially the battery but also the energy management in the vehicle.”

More than one in ten Electric Vehicles that are more than eight years old or have been driven over 100,000 miles, the benchmarks where federal law requires warranties for EV batteries, have reported needing battery replacements, according to the WSJ.

The Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule in March that would require the majority of light-duty vehicles sold after the 2032 model year to be Electric Vehicles or hybrids, as part of the Biden administration’s broader push to popularize EVs. The administration has also poured billions of dollars into subsidizing the manufacturing of EVs and building infrastructure for them otherwise hardly anyone would buy them.

It’s called Voodoo economics.

Electric Vehiles make up about 6.8% of auto sales and 1% of light-duty vehicles in the United States, the WSJ reported.