The EV Saga Continues - The Nightmare of Replacement Lithium Batteries

Thanks to a friend who forwarded me this video regarding the battery packs in Hyundai's much-touted and highly rated IONIQ 5 electric vehicle:

 

...which was followed by this video one week later:

 

...we are learning about another downside to EV ownership.

 

For those of you who do not live in Canada, here is a screen copy of Hyundai's pricing for the IONIQ 5 in Canadian dollars, excluding any provincial or federal, taxpayer-funded subsidies:

 

So, basically, according to the issues facing these two Canadian IONIQ 5 owners, the replacement battery packs for their vehicles are more costly than the original vehicle.  As such, it's not terribly surprising that insurance companies are writing off these EVs even though the damage appears, at first glance, to be surficial.  This type of damage in an ICE vehicle would be easily and relatively cheaply reparable.  

 

Two questions come to mind:

 

1.) Why isn't Hyundai installing a much more robust shielding system on the underside of their vehicles to protect the critical and highly fragile lithium batteries from the impact of road debris?

 

2.) What will be the ultimate impact of these write-offs (which will multiply) as EV adoption increases on all vehicle insurance rates even though the majority of insurance consumers don't own EVs?

 

While it has been apparent for some time that the cost of replacing aging EV lithium batteries is excessive and likely subeconomic, these cases show just how vulnerable EV consumers are to losing any economic advantage to electric vehicle ownership.

  

It's funny how the kakistocrats who insist that we will all adopt EVs seem to be blissfully unaware of this substantial downside of electric vehicle adoption, isn't it?  Or, are they not as stupid as they appear to be?