First-Gen EV Owner Shares 8-Year Cost Breakdown: "Expensive Battery Replacement? Mine Never Broke!"

Recently, a GAC Trumpchi GE3 owner shared his real-world experience of driving a battery electric vehicle (BEV) for eight years. He purchased the car in 2016 at a base price of RMB 245,800, which dropped to around RMB 150,000 after government subsidies. To date, he has driven over 130,000 kilometers, and the vehicle still delivers a range of 410 kilometers—showing no noticeable battery degradation. Some fellow owners have even surpassed 650,000 kilometers, with their batteries still functioning normally. The owner bluntly stated, “People who claim battery replacement is expensive are just talking nonsense—go ahead and try wearing out your battery first.” Over eight years, his total electricity costs amounted to only RMB 7,000–8,000 (roughly RMB 1,000 per year), and each maintenance service cost just over RMB 300—far less than the expenses associated with gasoline-powered vehicles. Although early models faced issues like high energy consumption and low resale value, the owner affirmed he would choose a pure electric vehicle again for his next car and questioned critics of new-energy vehicles, saying, “Many of them have never even driven one.”