Almost 100,000 battery electric cars were registered in the UK in September. As more electric vehicles (EVs) enter the market, their impact on salvage is coming into focus. IAA’s Sarah Hirst explains why the battery matters so much to what insurers get back.
September was a record month for electric cars in Britain. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT), 99,201 new battery electric cars were registered, 28.3% of the market, taking this year’s total to more than 454,000. At the start of October, the RAC reported that the average price of diesel had passed £2 a litre for the first time. Most of the attention went to the showroom. For insurers and the salvage industry, though, the figures raise a different question: if some of these cars are damaged and declared a total loss in the years ahead, how much of their value could be recovered?
One of the key challenges in the salvage sale of electric vehicles is battery transparency. While buyers can easily assess visible damage such as dents, scratches, and bodywork defects, the condition of the battery, the most valuable and critical component of the vehicle, is not immediately visible.
For Sarah Hirst, UK Commercial Director at IAA, this uncertainty remains one of the biggest barriers in the EV salvage market. Battery condition can also influence whether a vehicle is deemed repairable or written off, particularly as the market for damaged battery repair and refurbishment continues to evolve.
To address this challenge, IAA combines EV-trained engineering expertise with advanced battery diagnostic technology to provide buyers with greater confidence and transparency. Through detailed battery assessments, IAA can determine battery health, remaining cell capacity, charge retention capabilities, and identify any safety concerns, including the potential risk of thermal runaway.
“As part of our assessment process, we can understand the condition and performance of the battery, including the capacity of the cells and the level of charge they can retain,” explains Hirst. “Importantly, we can also identify whether there are any safety concerns and provide buyers with confidence that the vehicle has been professionally assessed. This helps create greater transparency within the EV salvage market and supports informed purchasing decisions.”
This approach enables IAA to maximise buyer confidence, support accurate vehicle valuation, and facilitate the safe and efficient remarketing of electric vehicles through the salvage channel.
Electrified cars already make up a growing part of IAA’s UK sales. EV and hybrid sales through IAA’s UK auction platform grew 50.3% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
The wider used car market is paying attention too. Recent industry research shows that fuel costs are a key factor driving customers towards used EVs.
The battery is not the only reason a car ends up at salvage. When insurers decide whether to repair, they look at much more than the repair bill, and parts availability is a big factor. If a part has to come from abroad, a repairable car can sit in a garage for months while costs mount.
“One of the biggest challenges insurers face today isn’t necessarily whether a vehicle can be repaired, it’s how long it takes to make that decision,” says Hirst. “We’ve seen relatively minor components delay repairs for months. Instead of a vehicle being returned to the customer in seven days, it can remain off the road for six months because a single part isn’t available. During that time, insurers continue to incur costs through courtesy vehicles, credit hire, storage and handling charges, all of which can quickly exceed the value of the repair itself.”
As vehicle technology becomes more complex and new manufacturers enter the UK market, parts availability is increasingly influencing repair versus total-loss decisions. In some cases, vehicles have been deemed a total loss because replacement parts simply could not be sourced. Meanwhile, advanced components such as LED headlamp assemblies, sensors and ADAS technology can individually cost thousands of pounds, significantly affecting the economics of a repair.
“At IAA, our focus is on helping insurers make informed decisions as early as possible. The faster a vehicle can be assessed, categorised and moved through the claims process, the quicker insurers can control costs and customers can receive settlement. Every day a vehicle sits awaiting a decision generates additional recovery, storage, administration and mobility costs that provide no value to the insurer or the policyholder.”
For electric vehicles, that challenge is even greater. Damaged EVs require specialist handling, transportation and, in some cases, dedicated quarantine facilities until the battery can be assessed.
“Through our EV-trained teams, battery diagnostic capabilities and specialist storage infrastructure, we help insurers safely manage these vehicles while reducing unnecessary delays and associated costs. Ultimately, our role is not just to maximise salvage returns, but to reduce the total cost of a claim by accelerating decision-making, reducing storage exposure and getting vehicles through the process as efficiently as possible.”
IAA tracks every stage of the vehicle journey, from first notification through to final sale, providing insurers with detailed visibility of claim and salvage cycle times. This allows clients to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, accelerate decision-making and reduce overall claim costs, with performance measured across each stage of the process.
The decision to declare a vehicle a total loss can be undertaken either by the insurer or supported by IAA in-house engineers. Through this collaborative approach, insurers are equipped with the information required to make informed and timely total-loss decisions.
IAA’s dedicated transport network collects vehicles nationwide, ensuring assets are moved quickly and securely through the claims process. Comprehensive digital imagery and condition documentation are captured at collection and again upon arrival at an IAA facility, creating a fully auditable record of vehicle condition and providing insurers with complete transparency throughout the asset lifecycle.
Record EV registrations are only part of the story. The rapid emergence of new vehicle manufacturers, increasing levels of embedded technology, and an evolving battery repair market are fundamentally changing the economics of vehicle repair and total-loss decisions. Today, visible damage is just one consideration among many, with insurers also needing to assess battery health, parts availability, repair complexity, repair cycle times, storage exposure, and the overall cost of the claim.
As larger volumes of electric vehicles enter the claims process, insurers will need a more holistic approach to total-loss management – one that considers both vehicle value and the total cost of resolution. The ability to make informed decisions quickly, supported by accurate technical assessment and efficient claims handling, will be critical. Those insurers that can effectively balance repair viability, customer outcomes, cycle time performance, and salvage realisation will be best positioned to minimise indemnity spend, reduce unnecessary recovery and storage costs, and maximise overall claim value.
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