"A used car is worth 160,000 yuan, but replacing the battery costs 220,000 yuan!" As new energy vehicle (NEV) ownership increases, news stories about "battery replacement costing more than buying a car" have become increasingly common.

According to research results from the China Insurance Automotive Safety Index on automotive parts-to-whole ratios, among 59 pure electric NEV models, the average single-component parts-to-whole ratio for power battery packs is 50.96%. In after-sales maintenance, replacing the power battery pack of a 200,000-yuan NEV costs over 100,000 yuan.

"Power batteries account for 40%-50% of the vehicle's parts-to-whole ratio value and are the focus of after-sales service, insurance claims, and technical maintenance, which is why they receive high attention," explained Wang Hao, founder of Coppola Automotive Consulting Service (Qingdao) Co., Ltd., regarding one of the key reasons behind the "astronomical" battery maintenance costs.

Beyond price, batteries themselves are extremely complex products involving the integration of multiple disciplines including mechanics, physics, chemistry, and electrochemistry, with considerable technical barriers.

To address battery maintenance challenges, battery manufacturers like Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.,Ltd. (CATL) have begun strategic deployment, while third-party automotive aftermarket service providers such as Tuhu and Tmall Auto Care are competing for three-electric system maintenance authorization. A battle for the new blue ocean of the automotive aftermarket is quietly underway.

**Battery Maintenance Trapped in "Sky-High Price" Dilemma**

"A certain 90,000-yuan model suffered chassis damage, with repair costs of 120,000 yuan, which is more than 1.3 times the car's price," a Shanghai auto repair shop worker told reporters about the expensive NEV battery maintenance situation.

Regarding this, Li Wei, President of CATL's Quality System and Aftermarket Business Department, explained: "This situation has some rationale. For example, if the production line for this battery pack has been discontinued, producing this battery pack now would require setting up a new production line, making costs very high. Normally, the production cost of after-sales battery packs is three times the normal mass production cost."

As the market demands increasingly higher volumetric energy density from power batteries, the installation of CTP (Cell to Pack, module-less power battery packs) has surged significantly. CTP's high integration makes battery repair more difficult, and problems may require complete pack replacement, often trapping battery packs in a "replace-only, no-repair" maintenance dilemma.

Addressing customer pain points, OEMs commonly offer "eight-year warranty services." However, these services often have numerous restrictions, such as requirements for vehicle usage frequency and after-sales scenarios, and only apply to first owners.

According to Li Wei, CATL's aftermarket brand "CATL Service" repair centers specifically target "out-of-warranty" scenarios.

CATL Service is an independent aftermarket brand previously launched by CATL, offering battery testing, battery maintenance, used car trading, battery recycling and reuse, as well as CTP repair and battery recycling services.

Engineers at CATL Service's Shanghai direct-operated experience center indicated that all battery packs arriving at repair centers undergo testing first, with repair plans developed based on test results. While replacing a battery pack originally cost over 100,000 yuan, repair solutions might cost only one-tenth of that price.

Li Wei believes battery maintenance costs will continue to decrease in the future. "As channels increase and maintenance-related scenarios become standardized, costs will definitely decrease after standardization," Li Wei said.

**After-Sales Service Authorization Issues Remain Unresolved**

Beyond technical challenges, "authorization" presents more significant issues. After all, power batteries are critical vehicle components, and unlike traditional fuel vehicle aftermarkets, NEV maintenance is relatively closed and centralized, mostly handled by OEM official after-sales services.

"Since current NEV power battery maintenance volume is limited, OEMs are moderately deploying after-sales networks domestically. Having 1-3 locations per prefecture-level city is sufficient to meet current demand," Wang Hao said.

Currently, OEMs have few 4S store locations with NEV maintenance qualifications, concentrated in cities with weak county coverage. Industry sources revealed that one third-party automotive aftermarket service platform covers 1,700 counties through its service shops, but only 73 cities have stores capable of three-electric system maintenance.

The Shanghai auto repair shop worker confirmed their store does have some OEM-authorized NEV maintenance business, but mostly body and paint work, with limited three-electric system repairs. Another repair shop mechanic directly stated they cannot repair NEV three-electric systems, requiring customers to visit brand 4S stores for such maintenance.

"OEMs commonly provide users with warranty policies ranging from 5-6 years to 8 years or lifetime coverage, generally requiring battery manufacturers to provide equivalent three-guarantee periods. In user service, component manufacturers have become the primary role in fulfilling warranty commitments," Wang Hao explained. Without authorization from component manufacturers and OEMs, service providers generally cannot meet manufacturer standards or obtain corresponding parts and technical support.

However, OEM and battery manufacturer after-sales service authorization is generally not widely available, with only a few maintenance companies obtaining it.

In this context, Li Wei also discussed CATL's reasons for establishing CATL Service. "Since batteries are originally produced and supplied by CATL, when OEM batteries have problems and come to us for after-sales service, this constitutes original manufacturer after-sales service," Li Wei said. "As of now, nearly 20 million NEVs are equipped with CATL batteries. With such a large volume, we believe the timing is right to enter this business ourselves."

**Various Players Compete for Trillion-Yuan Market**

Despite numerous challenges, as NEVs gradually enter their after-sales peak period with large numbers of "out-of-warranty" vehicles entering the aftermarket, this blue ocean market continues attracting various players to explore opportunities.

According to CCID Consulting reports, China's NEV aftermarket total scale exceeded 1.9 trillion yuan in 2024, with projections showing the NEV aftermarket will surpass 3.9 trillion yuan by 2027, representing an average annual growth rate of 25%.

Beyond market explosion, national and industry policies are driving rapid NEV aftermarket upgrades. In March 2025, the "New Energy Vehicle Operational Safety Performance Inspection Regulations" officially took effect, incorporating three-electric systems into annual inspections for the first time, catalyzing testing demand. The simultaneously implemented "New Energy Vehicle Maintenance Technical Requirements" and "Power Battery Maintenance Completion Technical Conditions" actively clarified three-electric maintenance processes and safety standards to address industry "afraid to repair, don't know how to repair" issues.

"NEV maintenance indeed requires professional advanced technology, massive data, and rich case experience. Currently, CATL participates in constructing all standard systems related to lithium-ion battery maintenance and testing in the NEV aftermarket. For example, CATL is working with relevant national standardization authorities on battery remanufacturing standards," Li Wei said.

Additionally, Li Wei revealed that CATL Service is negotiating with insurance companies on battery guarantee, battery degradation, post-warranty re-insurance, extended warranty and other services to jointly develop more NEV-applicable insurance products.

Despite controversies over pricing and authorization barriers, policy support and technological iteration will continue accelerating NEV aftermarket industry development. Only players who can ultimately find the balance between cost control and service efficiency will secure their footing in this battle for the trillion-yuan market.