Collision repairers are seeing the same pattern with electric vehicles: minor collision damage, uncertain battery assessments and a repair estimate that quickly pushes the vehicle into total loss territory.
A new industry blueprint released by Thatcham Research aims to change that.
Thatcham Research, the UK-based automotive risk intelligence and safety authority that works with insurers, vehicle manufacturers and the repair industry, has launched a detailed framework designed to make battery electric vehicles easier to assess, repair and insure throughout their lifecycle.
The initiative comes as insurers and repairers face growing pressure to manage EV repair costs without unnecessarily removing vehicles from service.
Over the past five years, the industry has made major progress in understanding EV safety. First responders now follow clear protocols when dealing with electric vehicles at collision scenes. Technicians have access to training on safely isolating high-voltage systems and managing potential thermal runaway risks. Bodyshops can identify EVs quickly and understand the fundamental safety requirements involved in working on high-voltage systems.
The challenge now is improving recovery, assessment and repair processes so that repairs make economic sense.
The recent Thatcham Research survey conducted with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) highlights the scale of the issue. Battery-related concerns remain the top challenge for both insurers and repair professionals.
Battery issues were cited by:
- 44.6 per cent of insurers
- 41.7 per cent of repair professionals
With batteries representing up to 40 per cent of a vehicle’s total value, even relatively minor damage can lead to write-off decisions, particularly as EVs depreciate.
Dan Harrowell, Principal Engineer, Advanced Technologies at Thatcham Research, says repair efficiency is central to keeping EV insurance affordable.
"How affordable it is to insure these cars largely relies on how well the industry can handle repairs after accidents. As repair shops have become more experienced with electric vehicle technology, the costs of fixing these cars have already decreased by 10.7%.
“To continue making insurance more affordable as more electric vehicles hit the roads, car manufacturers, insurance companies and repairers need to keep collaborating to overcome any remaining challenges. This blueprint provides the roadmap for that collaboration, ensuring we can deliver both the environmental benefits of electrification and the economic sustainability that consumers need."
Eight Repairability Requirements
The blueprint outlines eight practical recommendations aimed primarily at vehicle manufacturers but with implications across the repair and insurance ecosystem.
These include:
- Resettable emergency safety loops
Emergency safety systems should be resettable after a collision rather than requiring permanent component replacement, similar to fuel cut-off systems used in conventional vehicles. - Simplified battery removal and installation
Battery handling processes must be straightforward and should avoid specialised subscription-based tools that create barriers to efficient repairs. - Clear battery damage assessment guidelines
Accessible methodologies should exist for evaluating battery damage after collisions so repairers and insurers can determine whether replacement is truly required. - Accessible high-voltage diagnostics
Diagnostics should be standardised and compatible with widely available equipment, similar to existing On-Board Diagnostics systems. - Improved battery protection from impacts
Underbody shields and protective structures should protect battery packs from impacts, with replaceable components available at reasonable cost. - Battery repair strategies
Battery casings and mounting brackets should be repairable without requiring removal or disassembly of the entire battery pack. Pyrotechnic fuses should also be designed for reset or replacement. - Serviceable battery design
High-voltage batteries should be modular and designed for safe disassembly using removable fasteners rather than adhesives to allow refurbishment and remanufacturing. - Strategic HV component placement
Critical components such as charge ports should be positioned in less vulnerable locations and designed as standalone replaceable units.
For repairers, many of these design changes would significantly reduce diagnostic uncertainty and improve repair feasibility.
Three Core Principles
The blueprint is built around three guiding principles:
- Safety
Ensuring protection for everyone who interacts with EVs throughout the vehicle lifecycle, from collision through recovery and repair. - Sustainability
Supporting a circular economy for high-voltage batteries through repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing. - Affordability
Keeping components accessible and reasonably priced while providing multiple repair pathways, including refurbished and remanufactured parts.
Repairable Vehicles Being Written Off
One example presented in the blueprint illustrates the issue clearly.
A three-year-old electric vehicle sustains minor side impact damage affecting the battery bracket. Under many current repair procedures, damage to the battery casing often requires replacing the entire battery pack.
The cost of that replacement can exceed the vehicle’s value.
The result: a total loss declaration for what might otherwise be a repairable vehicle.
In a more repair-friendly environment, the casing or bracket could be repaired or replaced using refurbished components, returning the vehicle to service at a fraction of the cost.
Research from Generational, which analyzed more than 8,000 electric cars and light commercial vehicles, shows that EV batteries maintain strong long-term capacity.
The study found:
- 85 per cent median capacity in EVs aged eight to nine years
- 93.53 per cent median capacity in EVs aged four to five years
"This represents an achievable future state," says Harrowell. "The vehicle returns to service promptly, the customer retains their vehicle, salvage values improve and environmental impact is substantially reduced compared to manufacturing a new battery. Real-world data is showing that batteries can have a very long usable life that we should try to maximise through sustainable repair."
Industry Impact
The blueprint focuses on two major barriers affecting EV repair economics:
- Post-collision diagnosis and battery assessment
- Post-collision repair execution
Improving both areas could reduce unnecessary total losses, stabilize insurance premiums and improve salvage values.
Jonathan Hewett, CEO of Thatcham Research, says the issue has implications across the entire automotive ecosystem.
"The transition to electric vehicles represents one of the most significant transformations our industry has ever undertaken, but it cannot succeed if EVs become economically unviable to insure and repair. We're seeing too many repairable vehicles written off simply because current designs don't accommodate efficient assessment and repair processes.
"Our Electric Vehicle Blueprint is the result of carrying out real-world EV impact assessments and repair procedures, in-house for more than a decade. These are practical, evidence-based recommendations to overcome three-year-old EVs being written off unnecessarily because of minor battery casing damage. This impacts consumer confidence and, fundamentally, undermines the sustainability credentials that make electrification so important in the first place.
"The eight recommendations we've outlined are entirely achievable. We already see these principles working in conventional vehicles – resettable safety systems, accessible diagnostics, serviceable components. There's no technical reason why EVs can't meet the same standards. What we need now is industry-wide commitment to designing vehicles that can be safely assessed, efficiently repaired, and economically maintained throughout their entire lifecycle.
"We want to work with vehicle and battery manufacturers to create a genuinely sustainable electric vehicle ecosystem. Not just sustainable in terms of emissions, but sustainable economically and practically for the millions of consumers who will depend on these vehicles in the years ahead."
About Thatcham Research
Founded in 1969 by the UK insurance industry, Thatcham Research is a leading automotive risk intelligence organization focused on improving vehicle safety, security and repairability. The organization conducts crash testing, vehicle risk analysis and repair research while developing standards used by insurers, manufacturers and repairers across the automotive sector.
Thatcham Research has spent more than a decade conducting EV impact assessments and studying electric vehicle repair procedures to better understand the implications for insurers and repair networks.
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