China's first generation of electric-car owners is hitting a costly wall: when the battery warranty expires, replacing the pack can cost more than the car is worth. According to First Electric (第一电动), a driver quoted 80,000 yuan (about $11,300) for a new battery on a car with a resale value of just 30,000 yuan (about $4,200) faces a painful choice between repairing an aging EV and scrapping it.
The problem stems from the industry's standard 8-year or 120,000-km (74,565-mile) warranty on the high-voltage battery, motor and electronic controls. Most of the EVs sold in China's boom years from 2016 onward are now reaching that threshold. The China Passenger Car Association's Cui Dongshu estimates that by the end of 2026, about 2.6 million EVs in the country will be older than eight years, and around 3.5 million vehicles — including commercial fleet cars with shorter 5-year/500,000-km (310,686-mile) warranties — will drop out of coverage in 2025 alone. Industry projections cited by China Economic Net suggest nearly 20 million EVs will cross the battery-warranty line between 2025 and 2032.
For owners, the numbers are stark. A repair-shop quote cited by CNR (央广网) shows that replacing the entire battery pack of a compact BEV (battery-electric vehicle) typically starts at 40,000 yuan (about $5,600), while a mid-size SUV can cost 80,000 to 100,000 yuan (about $11,300 to $14,100). Yet an eight-year-old EV is usually worth only 20,000 to 40,000 yuan (about $2,800 to $5,600) — meaning a new pack can cost more than the car itself. Many owners say they would rather scrap the car and buy a used one.
Part of the issue is design. Early CTP (cell-to-pack) battery packs seal cells, the battery management system and cooling lines into one unit, so official service centers often replace the whole pack even for a single faulty cell. With those early models out of production, original replacement modules are scarce, and third-party compatible parts are almost nonexistent. One owner complained that for his old gasoline car, cheap aftermarket and used parts were everywhere, but for his EV there is nothing.
Another hurdle is the lack of a unified standard for measuring battery health (SOH). Each automaker uses its own algorithm, and dashboard readings can be inaccurate. A driver who sees range drop by 30% may visit a dealer only to be told the battery has not reached the contractual degradation threshold for a free replacement. Data from independent testers is often not accepted by the manufacturer, leaving owners with little recourse.
Even so-called lifetime warranties are not a solution. Most are commercial policies, not legal obligations, and come with strict conditions: first-owner only, no transfer, annual mileage caps, mandatory dealer servicing, no modifications, no commercial use. A second-hand buyer inherits only the basic 8-year warranty, and once the original owner leaves, the lifetime cover effectively disappears.
Industry begins to respond
Authorities and companies are starting to act. On June 18, 2026, nine government departments including the Ministry of Commerce issued a notice requiring automakers to diversify repair channels and parts supply, and to stop restricting owners from choosing independent workshops. The document also encourages repairing rather than replacing battery packs, marking the first official push to open up the closed repair ecosystem.
A new national safety standard, GB/T 47439—2026, took effect on August 1, 2026, mandating that high-voltage repair technicians hold electrician special-operation certificates and that two people work on any live electrical repair. The rule is designed to set entry barriers, keeping unlicensed backyard shops out while allowing qualified independent workshops in.
Battery giant CATL launched its Ningjia Service in August 2024, offering CTP deep-repair technology that replaces only the faulty cells rather than the whole pack. The service now covers more than 70% of repairable models, using original parts and processes, and comes with official warranty. Module-level repair costs only 10% to 50% of a full pack replacement, according to the report. CATL also licenses repair capabilities to chains through a four-tier technical authorization system.
Nio's BaaS (battery-as-a-service) model, launched in August 2020, avoids the problem altogether by separating the battery from the car. The battery asset company Wuhan Weineng, with registered capital of about 2.675 billion yuan (about $377 million), owns the packs and handles degradation, aging and faults, while owners can upgrade to larger batteries as needed. Some other brands, including Xpeng and Geely, have begun offering module-level repairs for older models instead of automatic full-pack replacement.
Still, many traditional automakers and early startups remain cautious, keeping diagnostic protocols closed, discontinuing parts for old models, and letting lifetime warranties die on transfer. The industry is only in the early stages of solving the out-of-warranty battery problem, and questions remain about how open diagnostics will become, how cheap third-party parts can get, and whether battery-maker repair networks can reach smaller cities. But for the first time, the direction is clear.
