Battery replacement cost

[Surge]

Has BMW issued pricing for replacing the entire HV battery?

I'm contemplating keeping the i3 a decade. That will likely mean a battery replacement, and I would like to factor in the cost into my budget.

While the cost of manufacturing the cells will undoubtedly drop, I highly doubt BMW will pass this cost reduction on to the customers! So my bet is that the price today is the price it will be for the life of the car.

 

[I33t]

The battery is warranted for 8 years and 70% capacity at that time isn't it?

Unless range falls below your commute, then you probably won't need a replacement at 10 years.

 

[Surge]

I plan to keep it longer than 8 years.
And I bet we' ll be fighting with BMW within the warranty period due to range dropping below 70%. How do you prove that anyway?

The range is so variable and wide ranging, what does 70% below normal mean??

Anyway, BMW has not disclosed the price of a new battery? Something we may want to find out!

 

[I33t]

The wording isn't 70% range, it is 70% capacity.

In the Aussie brochure, the section on the battery warranty says:

The BMW lithium-ion high-performance battery ("high voltage battery") provides a long service life. For the first 100,000km and a maximum of eight years, any defects of the BMW i3 high-voltage battery will be rectified cost-free and a capacity of 70% guaranteed.

70% capacity would be verified by a charge/discharge test. A driving range test would not accurately verify the battery capacity due to variables outside the test control (wind, temperature, traffic, etc)

I'd like to think that by the time the battery has lost it's usefulness there will be aftermarket options delivering higher capacity in the same package, but the construction of the battery pack may not make that a reasonable expectation. I guess we'll get to find out...

 

[Lecram]

When you need to replace the battery after 5,6,7 yrs, the prices of batteries wil be much lower then and the technology much better.

 

[Surge]

Ok, so a capacity of 70% can be easily measured. That's good, thanks.

I however highly doubt BMW will reduce the price of the battery as their costs decrease… no way.
And I highly doubt 3rd party batteries will work.

I guess BMW has not disclosed the price of the battery? This is a major omission… because we know it MUST be eventually replaced. It's not like an engine that could last 20+ years. The battery will need replacement.

Is no one planning to keep the car beyond 8 years?

 

[Lecram]

To have the best benefit from tax advantages, we must keep the car for 5 years here in Holland. After 5 years, the cars has been written off to about 5000 euros and I don't care then what the price of the battery is. Then, We can simply buy a new electric car with a much better battery.

 

[Surge]

True, in one sense.
But imagine then someone buying a 5 year old i3 for 5000EU and replacing the battery for ???, say 5000EU. Now for 10,000EU they have an i3 with a brand new battery and probably < 100,000km. Sounds like a good deal!

But again, we need to know the cost of the battery.

 

[stillageek]

Has BMW issued pricing for replacing the entire HV battery?

I'm contemplating keeping the i3 a decade. That will likely mean a battery replacement, and I would like to factor in the cost into my budget.

While the cost of manufacturing the cells will undoubtedly drop, I highly doubt BMW will pass this cost reduction on to the customers! So my bet is that the price today is the price it will be for the life of the car.

The battery is unique in that the DEALER can replace individual cells. This is different than Tesla and the most popular Hybrid, the Prius, in that the DEALER can only replace the entire battery. Thus is a few cells go bad ONLY they must be replaced. Much cheaper.

Additionally, though it is very different technology, when the Prius came out it was $4,000 for a new battery plus installation. Today a new battery can be installed for $3K (including labor) while a third party battery is under $2000 and a re-manufactured battery is under $900 installed.

 

[ultraturtle]

Considering EV battery pack energy density is doubling, and cost per kWh is halving every 4 to 5 years (http://theenergycollective.com/oncl.../making-low-carbon-future-better-well-cheaper):

you will likely be faced with a choice of either purchasing a battery pack with the same capacity for less than half the equivalent current price, or one with more than twice the current capacity for the same price when it comes time for replacement. Unlike most other EV manufacturers, BMW has invested tremendously in tooling for the current i3 form factor, making it highly likely that there will be hundreds of thousands of long term owners like you and I, as well as used car purchasers of the i3 creating a significant market for replacement battery packs in which BMW and aftermarket manufacturers will compete for our business.

 

[Surge]

Sounds good, let's hope the reduced cost gets passed onto consumers!

 

[fdl1409]

I expect capacity will be much higher than 70% after 8 years. If they guarantee 70% after 8 years, they must be sure that this will hold easily even under worst case conditions.
Just sold my Mitsubishi i-MiEV after 15 months and 18.000km. If anything, range has increased in the meantime. The i3 battery ( expect my i3 in 5 weeks ) is probably more mature. It was tested extensively in heat, cold, dirt and water, and is expected by BMW to last for a car lifetime. I don`t worry at all about battery replacement cost, certainly not after 8 or 10 years. In addition, I ordered mine with a REx, so even with only 70% capacity that wouldn`t change much. Gasoline share would probably go up from 2 to 3% of my mileage.

Frank
Germany

 

[hoager22]

I just checked, in 2016, Li ion batteries went to less than half the price they were in 2013. The density between the 2014 and the 2017 i3 battery only went up by 1/3. Therefore it is cheaper for them to use the 33 kWh hour battery for replacement for batteries under warranty that are less than 70% unless there are other considerations. It would also be a goodwill gesture for ev owners that were willing to take the early leap.