Insurance of Chinese models, soon to be hell?

Electric cars: British companies are reluctant to insure Chinese models

In the UK, owning a Chinese electric car can be a real financial headache. With the rise of Chinese vehicles in our neighbors across the channel, British insurers are becoming increasingly cautious about insuring these models. In the eyes of insurance companies? Spare parts of these manufacturers. indeed, Like Tesla, only a few garages are allowed to repair vehicles from manufacturers such as BYD (which has become the world’s leading exporter ahead of Tesla) and GWM Ora 03.

On the other hand, and even if the United Kingdom represents the leading European market for Chinese manufacturers, the latter is not yet well established in the country. In other words, Delivery times for specialist spare parts are very long compared to other brands and there is a real lack of specialist labour. The result: repair costs are high, which in fact affects insurance premium prices, and companies are reluctant to insure these models.

A trend that can be exported across the channel?

Generally speaking, insurance premiums for electric cars, Chinese-made or not, are higher than those with combustion engines. This is mainly due to electric model batteries being extremely expensive to repair: Count on over 8,000 euros for a Renault Zoé model battery and up to 23,000 euros for a Tesla Model 3!

With the electric car market booming in Europe due to a ban on the sale of thermal vehicles in 2035, French insurers are likely to increase the cost of insurance premiums. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem like they are reluctant to insure Chinese electric models. Their insurance criteria focus not on the logistics of spare parts, but on the driver profile, type of cover, make, model, age of the vehicle and where the vehicle is parked.