We used to have a fine old term for this that got used quite a bit back in the 70s: planned obsolescence.
None of these are old cars. In fact, the oldest Spark is younger than the average non-electric car currently in service as a daily driver, which is about twelve years old. Most of these with many more years of useful service left, because they don’t have battery packs that cost more than the car is worth (by then) to replace.
Which is a built-in problem for all electric cars. Some may recall the case of the irate Finnish man who TNT’d his not-very-old Tesla Model S when he found out that replacing its dead battery pack would cost him on the order of $20,000.
But at least a replacement battery was still available.
Without that, you’ve got nothing – no matter how much you’re willing to pay for it. And unlike non-electric cars, there is very little you can do about it – other than eat the loss and move on to the next one. This is because an EV’s dead battery pack is not like a non-electric car’s failed transmission or engine – or even both, together. In the case of the latter, it is almost always possible to swap in a used or remanufactured/rebuilt transmission or engine – and drive on. It is not possible with electric cars for which there aren’t any replacements available, new or used.
And even if the original manufacturer no longer makes new replacement engines/transmissions for a given IC car, these can usually both be rebuilt at a price that’s worth the doing. Electric car battery packs, once dead, are throw-aways – just like the dead battery that no longer powers your sail fawn. At which point, you throw away the sail fawn.

The electric car, too.The difference being you probably paid a lot more for the electric car.
Interestingly, there has been little-to-no coverage in the general or even the automotive press about this business. It’s interesting – because you can imagine the uproar that would arise if any other barely ten-year-old car was no longer supported by its manufacturer – and had a built-in design feature that assured it would be rendered useless years before it reached the age of the average non-electric car currently in service.
Of course, the reason for the absence of such coverage is because it might call attention to the shorter useful lifespan of electric cars, due to the shorter useful life of their battery packs relative to the useful life of an IC car’s engine or transmission. These are expected to last at least 12-15 years – and most last longer. If they fail sooner, the car – and its maker – gets a well-deserved reputation for shoddiness and most people will avoid buying a car made by that maker.
It is discharge-recharge cycling that ages a battery. Especially “fast” charging. You can limit the damage by not “fast” charging – and not discharging – the EV battery. But then the EV isn’t much use, is it?
No such issue exists with non-electric cars in that driving down to fumes in the tank has no effect at all on the useful service life of the vehicle. A non-electric car that’s 15 or 20 years old holds as much gas in its tank – and travels just as far – as it did when it was new. An electric car’s battery pack is unlikely to be capable of holding the same charge it could when new when it is ten years old – and maybe sooner.
And if there’s no replacement battery available – or it costs more than it’s worth to replace it – the car is useless.
Many people will find out about this after they bought an EV. It probably explains another interesting thing about EVs that the general press (and the automotive press) haven’t covered much, which is that a large percentage of first-time EV buyers didn’t buy a second one.
Yeah, well, you know what they say about “fool me once, fool me twice.” Guess that smug, superior feeling an EV owner gets from knowing he’s being a good, obedient little shitlib and Doing His Part to help save Gaia only goes so far when, after being a full-time pain in the ass the whole time he’s had it, his little toy strugglebuggy shits the bed for good at the exact same time his neighbor’s Focus or Elantra is only just beginning to hit its stride.
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“little toy strugglebuggy” 🙂
The left always hides the truth. Electric vehicles are:
And most important, recognize the left doesn’t want you in an electric vehicle, they want you in nothing but public transport, sans your weapons of course.
Batteries are dirty to produce and dirty to dispose of. In between they are charged using mostly hydrocarbon generated electricity.
I say all that and I’m one that likes them and recognizes their good qualities: max torque at zero speed, never wear brakes, and true all wheel drive with no mechanical complexity (no gearbox or shafts required).
When they get the range to 600 miles and the battery to half the current size and price, it will be mostly over for the ICE vehicle. We will need some new power generation and distribution….
Oh look, the downvote chicken shit fairy’s have shown up once again. Afraid of their own shadows, afraid to engage, you know who you are and you’re pathetic 100% pussy’s.
As is usually the case in a (semi) free country, there is a thriving market of providers who replace bad cells in those battery packs, saving the owners the cost of a total replacement. Will be interesting to see how software failures will be worked around as well. Yes, the posting is correct, I just enjoy seeing clever folks hack around limitations.
Tesla has their own battery packs, will not sale to 3rd party’s, and will not replace except as a whole battery.
I like Musk just fine. I would not own a Tesla. The battery’s come with 8 year/100 to 150K warranty’s. Guarantee no less than 70% retention, which means your 300 mile range is now 210.
The battery is the problem. When that gets improved electric might be feasible. It is not right now unless you are driving short / local only, and don’t care what it costs.
The 5K hit for expired lithium is fun too
There’s no technical reason the batteries can’t be fixed.
From what I understand, the goobermint and manufacturers don’t want you to. There’s a liability thing too. Can you imagine a fine business repairing batteries only to have a car combust?
You’d have to dig through the slag, if there’s any left, to discern which battery ignited. IF you even could.
The real issue with electric cars is a wonderful American concept called ‘Right to Use’. You buy it, but they let you use it, for a fee. Tesla does it, as does John Deere. You can’t just up and sell it without the new owner paying a VIG to the mothership.
I was walking the dogs after I read this the first time. Passed a shiny RAM 4×4 at a neighbors house. A 2015 truck, looked as good as new. I generally buy my cars around 8 years old, around 50K on the clock. They are nearly new, and far easier on the wallet. My car dealer buddy’s detailers clean them up like new.
So a ten year lifespan is a deal breaker to me.