Why a transmission jack is the wrong tool
A transmission jack is rated for a gearbox: a compact lump of a few hundred kilos sitting on a small saddle. A pack is a flat slab the length of the floorpan, with its mass spread across it and fixings at many points, and it has to come down level. On a small saddle it tips. A tipped pack means a damaged casing, possibly damaged cells, and a pack that now has to be quarantined instead of repaired.
Lifting equipment carries a rated load, and after an incident the first question from the insurer is what the pack was sitting on. "A transmission jack" ends that conversation.
The 1,000 to 1,500 kg class gives margin over the heaviest packs with the weight of adaptors and supports on top.
What to check on the table itself
- Capacity. 1,000 kg is the floor. 1,200 kg is the common rating in this class and covers most cars. Go to 1,500 kg if large SUV or van packs are part of the plan.
- Lift range. The lowest height has to get under the car on your lift, and the highest has to reach the floorpan with the car at working height on a two post lift. Check both numbers against your lift, with a tape measure, before ordering.
- Platform size and adjustable supports. Packs mount at points, so a flat platform on its own is not enough. You want adjustable arms or supports that locate on the pack's mounting points and let you level it on the way down.
- Wheels and brakes. You push a loaded table out from under a car. Lockable castors and a brake, so a 600 kg pack does not roll while you are reaching for a bolt.
- Control on the descent. Foot pedal or air operated both work. What matters is that the pack comes down slowly and stops where you tell it.
- Pallet delivery. A table ships on a pallet to the kerb. You need a way to get it off and inside, and somebody there to sign for it.
Who needs one, and who does not
A table is for workshops doing pack level work: module replacement, pack seals, coolant leaks inside the casing, anything that means the pack is out of the car on a bench. That is Level 4 territory under the IMI structure. Level 3 covers working on the high voltage system with it depowered, and most of that work happens with the pack in situ.
If nobody in the building holds Level 4, do not buy a table. Buy gloves, lockout, a meter and insulated tools, and send the pack jobs to a specialist until the training catches up.
HEVRA audits tools and equipment against its own standard and does not publish the list. If you are joining as a pack repairer, expect a lifting table to be part of the conversation. A member doing diagnostics and component work is a different conversation, and the way to settle it is to ask HEVRA directly.
The table is the last purchase in an EV set up. Buy it when you are turning away pack jobs you are qualified to do.
What it costs in the UK
Branded 1,200 kg class tables listed at roughly £3,400 to £3,900 ex VAT from UK suppliers in October 2026. Some sellers include delivery, others charge for the pallet, and the difference is worth asking about before comparing headline prices.
For scale, the whole of a Level 3 workshop's first EV safety basket, gloves, lockout, tools, meter and signage, comes in between £600 and £2,500. The table alone costs more than all of that. It belongs at the end of the list for that reason.
Some sellers offer lease or finance on tables. That changes the cash picture for a workshop that already has the Level 4 qualification in place and pack jobs waiting, and it changes nothing for one that does not.
What else changes when you start dropping packs
- Space. A bay long enough and a lift high enough to get the table under, plus somewhere to put a pack while it is out. It cannot sit on the floor in the walkway.
- Quarantine. A damaged pack stays a fire risk for days after the impact. You need a designated area away from the building and other vehicles, with the vehicle or pack monitored for a minimum of 24 to 48 hours. Insurers often specify longer and a separation distance.
- Insurance. Garages are already being refused cover for having no qualified EV technician. Pack work is a step beyond that, and the insurer needs to hear about it from you before the first pack comes out.
- Training. Whoever leads the pack work holds Level 4. A table in a workshop where the top qualification is Level 3 is a liability with wheels on.