(NEWSnet) — A lack of standards for repair and replacement of electric vehicle battery packs may lead to higher insurance premiums, according to a recent Automotive News report. 

The battery packs on EVs can represent up to 50% of the vehicle's value, often making it uneconomical to replace them, according to the report.

It is often difficult to tell if they have been damaged and there's no way to repair them. Replacement can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The result is that EVs with batteries that are damaged, or even scratched, from an accident end up having to be totaled out by insurance companies, which is costly.

Another consequence is that those damaged batteries end up piling up in scrapyards.

Ford and GM are aware of the issue and are trying to make battery packs more repairable.

Tesla's battery packs are structural and have been deemed unrepairable.

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