Electric vehicle (EV) owners in the UK have been dealt a blow after a major survey revealed that their eco-friendly cars are more prone to breakdowns compared to petrol, diesel, and hybrid vehicles.
The findings come from the What Car? Reliability Survey, which surveyed nearly 30,000 car owners. It showed that 16.8% of EV owners had experienced a breakdown in the past two years. This is a higher rate than petrol cars (10.7%), hybrid vehicles (14%), and diesel cars (15%). In total, 11% of all drivers reported a breakdown in the last two years, with EVs standing out as the most unreliable.
One significant detail in the survey was that only 25% of EVs were repaired immediately, whereas 40% of petrol cars were fixed on the spot. In contrast, 40% of electric vehicles needed to be towed to a garage, a much higher percentage than the 30% for petrol vehicles.
Jakob Pfaudler, CEO of the AA, has long warned that the belief EVs break down less often than traditional vehicles is a misconception. In April, Pfaudler stated, “Currently, at least, that is not the case. The breakdown rate is slightly higher for EVs than for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.”
Despite the findings, diesel vehicles, although slightly more reliable than EVs, still had the highest overall fault rate. Thirty-one percent of diesel car owners reported an issue within the past year, although this is an improvement from 50% in 2022, signaling some progress in diesel vehicle reliability.
However, there is some good news for EV owners. They reported the second-highest rate of free repairs, with 89% of issues fixed at no cost. Additionally, only 3% of EV owners paid more than £1,500 for repairs, indicating that electric cars are still relatively affordable to maintain compared to their fossil-fueled counterparts.
The survey’s results have sparked debates within the automotive community. Some EV advocates have questioned the methodology of the study, pointing to other data that suggests EVs might be more reliable. Ben Nelmes, CEO of the consultancy New Automotive, proposed that the UK’s MOT failure rate might be a better measure of reliability. He noted that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) generally have lower failure rates than petrol and diesel cars of similar ages, except for three-year-old vehicles where the failure rates were almost the same.
Ginny Buckley, CEO of the EV advice website Electrifying, argued that the survey contradicts other data from companies like Start Rescue. According to Start Rescue, EVs are 59% less likely to break down than petrol or diesel cars. She also emphasized that when EVs do break down, the issues tend to be minor and less expensive to fix, thanks to the simpler design and fewer moving parts of electric vehicles.
Buckley explained, “The What Car? survey contradicts data from companies like Start Rescue, who reported that EVs are 59% less likely to break down. When they do, the problems are often minor, like issues with tyres, wheels, or the 12-volt battery — similar to traditional cars. Expensive mechanical failures, which are common in older internal combustion engine vehicles, are rare in EVs due to their simpler engineering.”
While EVs may currently face more breakdowns than conventional vehicles, experts believe the reliability of electric cars will improve as the technology matures. For now, though, EV owners can take comfort in the fact that their vehicles are more likely to be repaired for free, making EVs a potentially cheaper option in the long run.
