Compared to fossil-fueled vehicles, electric vehicles (EV) save owners on oil and brake maintenance expenses, but they also come with higher costs to replace tires and glass that can eat away at those savings.
For every EV they sell, auto dealers are expected to see a loss of some $1,300 over five years (or $260 per year) a year in oil and brake maintenance revenue – savings for EV owners — because EVs require almost no oil and their brake pads last longer.
But “EVs consume tires at a much higher rate than internal combustion vehicles. They’re heavier and create near-instant torque off the line. You don’t need to hunt for long to find a Tesla owner who’s replaced their tires after a mere 10,000 miles. One of our portfolio companies, Zohr, an on-demand tire replacement service, sees its EV customers coming back for tire replacements 30% more frequently than traditional internal combustion vehicle owners. While EVs have less of a need to visit a service shop, they’ll need tire replacement more often.
“Electric vehicles also have more demanding cooling needs. They need to be incredibly efficient when cooling the cabin, careful not to impact vehicle range. The first line of defense against these thermal losses are more efficient glass structures and materials. Coupled with the increasing trend of larger windshields and moonroofs — note Tesla’s Model X panoramic glass costs $2,300 to replace — we’re entering an era of big, beautiful and expensive visibility.”
Read the article at TechCrunch.
