From Gwangju to Busan, "Repair Refugees": The Twist Behind Cost-Effective Chinese EVs

Owners of Chinese electric vehicles from BYD, whose cumulative domestic sales have surpassed 26,000 units, are being driven into "repair refugee" status.

There are only five official service centers nationwide capable of handling accident repairs for BYD vehicles: Yangcheon in Seoul, Anyang and Suwon in Gyeonggi Province, Bupyeong in Incheon, and Sasang in Busan.

If a BYD owner gets into an accident in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, they must travel about 250km to Busan or the greater Seoul area for so-called "expedition repairs" at an official accident repair center capable of sheet metal work and painting.

With each maintenance hub having to handle 5,000 vehicles, even getting a vehicle dropped off is difficult, and the repair process itself is equally grueling.

According to data from the Korea Insurance Development Institute, the average repair period for 373 BYD passenger car collision cases that finished settlement in the first half of this year was 9.8 days, which is more than three days longer than the average for domestic electric vehicles.

As repairs are delayed, the burden of rental car costs has also exceeded 1 million won, which is about double the level of domestic cars.

Such a severe lack of maintenance infrastructure is blamed on structural limitations where dealerships, rather than the headquarters, are entirely responsible for after-sales service and mechanic training.

Compounding this, labor costs vary across different dealerships, leading to consecutive cases where repair labor fees end up costing more than the parts themselves.

Difficulties in maintenance and excessive repair costs ultimately fall back as a burden on vehicle owners.

In the first half of this year, BYD's property damage loss ratio stood at 168.4%, the highest among all electric vehicle brands, raising concerns that this could lead to a bomb of future insurance premium hikes.

Tesla, which has surpassed 240,000 cumulative sales, also has only two dedicated accident repair centers in the greater Seoul area, heightening consumer concerns not only about China's BYD but imported electric vehicles in general.

Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Seo Byeong-wook | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.