The first batch of new energy owners roast that the problem of "expensive battery replacement" continued to grow, which attracted great attention from the industry.

The repair case of a Tesla owner has become the focus: a car owner encountered a collision at the bottom of the battery pack while driving, and after inspection, a single battery module needs to be replaced, with a total cost of over 60000 yuan for accessories and labor.

Tesla charges 160000 yuan for battery replacement: 20 million yuan new energy vehicles will be released from warranty, why is the three electric repair chain "difficult to produce"?

According to netizens, Tesla's battery pack consists of four modules, and the cost of replacing each module is about 40000 yuan (including labor hours). If the entire vehicle battery is replaced after being out of warranty, the estimated total cost will exceed 160000 yuan.

Previously, Tesla Model S owners reported that they spent millions of yuan to buy a car 8 years ago, but now it is out of warranty and the cost of replacing the battery has reached 220000 yuan. Currently, the residual value of the used car is only 160000 yuan.

On the data level, 550000 Tesla vehicles will be released from warranty by 2025, and these car owners may face high pressure to replace their batteries.

At the same time, the new energy after-sales market is experiencing a layout boom: third-party specialized repair chain brands with Tesla models as the core are intensively exposed on short video platforms.

For example, the "Walter" Tesla repair chain launched by Huasheng Group has landed in Suzhou, Xi'an and other places; Brands such as Xunwei, Fubon, and TBA Tebaoao are also accelerating the expansion of their store networks.

At the same time, battery manufacturers are also accelerating their after-sales layout. Following Ningde Times, EVE Energy and Ruipu Lanjun have successively launched service site recruitment.

It is worth noting that despite the wave of layout in the new energy after-sales market, why is it difficult for the three electric specialized repair chain to emerge?

01. In the future, 20 million car owners will be insured, and the number of car owners who do not purchase damage insurance is also increasing

I haven't had any insurance before, and the second year is even more expensive than the first year. I'm considering only paying compulsory insurance and not paying the rest. A new energy vehicle owner shared on social media.

Tesla charges 160000 yuan for battery replacement: 20 million yuan new energy vehicles will be released from warranty, why is the three electric repair chain "difficult to produce"?

"Renewal fees rise against the trend" has become a frequent roast of social platforms. In fact, due to the high cost of car insurance and the residual value of vehicles, a considerable number of new energy vehicle owners choose not to purchase car damage insurance.

There are also car owners who are reminded in the comment section that there is a risk of not purchasing compulsory traffic insurance, and accidents that may occur in the future may not be able to be repaired. He took Jike 001 as an example, the screen inside the car was damaged by 6-8K, and the key is that electric cars are not like gas cars that can be repaired at any repair shop.

Of course, there are still some new energy vehicle owners who cannot purchase car damage insurance.

A deep blue car owner reported that in 2024, their vehicle was only insured for 2500 yuan once, but was refused by multiple insurance companies for renewal at the end of the year. The insurance salesperson informed that their vehicle was classified as a "high rated" model and ultimately purchased the policy at a high price.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some operating vehicles may purchase private car insurance, as well as issues such as high accident rates and expensive repairs, which may result in insurance companies having to resort to refusing to provide coverage to reduce losses. It is reported that in 2024, the underwriting loss of new energy vehicle insurance will be 5.7 billion yuan.

The expensive maintenance costs of the three electric systems are also reshaping consumer decisions. The complaint rate of the three electric components for users who have purchased cars for more than 3 years in 2023 reached 13.3%. In the first half of 2024, car owners who have been in the station for maintenance and have driven more than 30000 kilometers per year have an average unit price of 18000 yuan for the three electric components that have been in the station for maintenance.

Faced with the sky high cost of battery replacement, "replacement by repair" has gradually become the mainstream choice, and third-party repair channels are favored due to their price advantages.

In addition, the proportion of new energy insurance customers is also increasing. According to data statistics, the number of "delisted" electric vehicles will reach 320000 in 2025, 980000 in 2028, and directly soar to 7.2 million in 2032. This means that 20 million car owners will face the pressure of self paying maintenance in the next 8 years.

The market has sensed the scent of change. On the eve of the outbreak of the new energy after-sales market, cracking the industry pain point of "expensive maintenance" will attract many after-sales enterprises to compete for layout.

02. New energy after-sales service has sparked a layout boom, with 2C traffic becoming the focus of competition

AC Motors once divided the participants in the new energy three electricity market into five major forces, including OEMs, battery manufacturers, insurance companies, automotive service chains, and independent after-sales enterprises.

Currently, although host manufacturers and insurance companies hold pricing and compensation dominance, they have not yet taken large-scale actions; The other three forces have sparked a wave of layout.

One is that battery manufacturers represented by CATL, with an installed capacity of over 12 million vehicles, are extending their B-end supply chain to C-end services, launching the "Ningjia Service" franchise brand, and introducing C-end traffic to their stores based on various testing packages and equity cards.

Tesla charges 160000 yuan for battery replacement: 20 million yuan new energy vehicles will be released from warranty, why is the three electric repair chain "difficult to produce"?

In February of this year, the "CTP Battery Repair Service" was launched. Wang Hao, founder of the electric workshop, explained that this move is partly due to the high technical requirements for CTP battery repair, and most repair outlets do not have the ability to repair; In addition, there is a certain demand in this area, and Ningde has also expanded its profitable service projects for insurance and other customer groups. Reducing maintenance costs is the core demand of insurance companies.

However, Ningde's heavy asset after-sales model also faces challenges in terms of input-output ratio and management and operation difficulties, and the willingness of other battery manufacturers to follow suit remains to be observed.

Secondly, automotive service chain brands such as "Cat, Tiger, Dog" and "Chijia" are laying out their three electric businesses using the "1+N" model. At present, most of these chain brands adopt the "integrated fuel and electricity" model, so the new energy business is more focused on C-end customers to layout tires, clean and light modification, and maintenance. The large-scale implementation of the three electric specialized repair business still needs time.

The third is the rise of various new energy specialized repair enterprises and chains in the independent after-sales market, which have become the most active variables, especially the large-scale emergence of chains mainly based on Tesla specialized repairs.

As mentioned earlier, the increase in Tesla car owners who are insured and those who do not purchase damage insurance, as well as the increase in supply chain enterprises that provide accessories for Tesla models, have provided customers and infrastructure for specialized repair chains.

At present, Tesla's specialized repair chain has two formats: one is an independent repair center model, covering tire chassis, oil maintenance, three electric maintenance and other businesses; The second is the in store model, which embeds new energy maintenance workstations to help traditional luxury car repair stores transform into "oil and electricity maintenance".

Taking Xunweisla specialized repair chain as an example, through self-developed electronic control circuit board repair system and diagnostic software system, the number of franchise stores in China has exceeded 100.

It is worth noting that Tesla's specialized repair chain also regards short video operation as its core customer acquisition channel, and 2C traffic will become the focus of competition for new energy after-sales service.

Why is it difficult to produce a chain of specialized repair services for three electrical systems?

At the beginning of the emergence of the new energy after-sales market, the industry predicted that chain giants would emerge in the field of three electric maintenance, just like the transmission engine specialized repair chain in the era of fuel vehicles.

From a business perspective, the after-sales value of "Three Electric" is undoubtedly the highest. As the core component of new energy vehicles, batteries alone account for 30% -40% of the total vehicle cost.

With the gradual release of early vehicles from warranty and the increasing age of vehicles, the demand for testing, maintenance, and replacement related to the three electric systems is constantly increasing. The "three electric" business is also an important touchpoint for after-sales enterprises to connect with car owners.

But the reality presents a complex picture: emerging enterprises focus more on building comprehensive service networks for vehicle models, while pure three electric maintenance chains have not yet become a trend.

Currently, the new energy business of traditional automotive service chains is focused on standardized projects such as tires and maintenance; Various new energy specialized repair chains provide comprehensive services such as maintenance and three electricity for specific vehicle models and brands.

There are multiple reasons that constitute the bottleneck of the development of the three electric specialized repair chain.

The insufficient scale of the three electricity businesses is the first to bear the brunt, making it difficult to support the operation of a chain.

Secondly, the shortage of specialized talents in the field of electrical engineering and electronics hinders the chain expansion. A new energy maintenance boss said that the three electric maintenance requires technicians to have both the mechanical repair skills of gasoline powered vehicles and knowledge of electronic circuits, as well as a certain level of proficiency in the three electric aspects. It is difficult for such technicians to achieve large-scale replication through a training system.

In his opinion, it will take time for the emergence of a chain of specialized repair services for three electrical systems, and traditional enterprises need to be cautious when entering the three electrical system.

One is the issue of customer sources. Currently, the customers of the three electric maintenance companies mainly come from the B-end, with ride hailing services and 4S store push notifications being the two main pillars;

Secondly, the technical threshold is high; The investment required for hardware such as equipment and venue is also not low.

A service provider who joined Ningjia Service in Suzhou told AC Auto that the investment cost is about 1 million yuan, and CATL will rate based on the standards of store equipment, maintenance sites, and the number of maintenance technicians.

Furthermore, there are safety and legal risks involved in the maintenance process. Improper operation of the high-voltage system of new energy vehicles during maintenance can easily lead to short circuits or fires.

Tesla charges 160000 yuan for battery replacement: 20 million yuan new energy vehicles will be released from warranty, why is the three electric repair chain "difficult to produce"?

Unauthorized repair companies dismantling or repairing batteries may face legal consequences. Recently, there have been cases in the industry where two auto repair workers were punished for illegally modifying battery management system data.

Finally, the host's three electric ultra long warranty policy and extended warranty service have strongly locked in customers, and the authorization system has become the mainstream format. The acquisition of customers without authorization system will be the core issue.

Wang Hao stated that the reshuffle of maintenance companies will definitely intensify in the next two to three years, but the current challenge is that a large number of maintenance companies are entering the new energy maintenance market, and there are actually not many projects that can be done.

There are many companies in the after-sales market of new energy that are anxious about selling. With the help of the urgent transformation of maintenance companies, they can quickly harvest

Regarding the layout of the three electricity markets, there is a clear division of industry views:

One is that it is believed that the next 2-3 years will be the entry window period, and missing it will result in losing the opportunity;

Secondly, some argue that the chain of three electric specialized repairs is difficult to operate, but there are opportunities for chain operation in the segmented field of battery specialized repairs.

What do you think? Welcome to share in the comment section.