Electric Vehicles Have Highest Breakdown Rate Among Car Types, Survey Reveals
A comprehensive survey of almost 30,000 car owners has found that electric vehicles (EVs) are more likely to break down than other types of cars. The What Car? Reliability Survey discovered that 16.8% of breakdowns involved EVs, a higher rate than for petrol, diesel, or hybrid vehicles.
The survey, which polled just under 30,000 car owners, revealed that 10.9% of respondents had experienced a breakdown in the past two years. Of those who reported breakdowns and specified their vehicle’s fuel type, about one in six (16.8%) were EV owners. This breakdown rate surpasses that of petrol, diesel, and hybrid car owners who participated in the survey.
Additional data from the magazine showed that diesel car owners were most likely to report faults, with 31% doing so last year, although this figure has decreased from 50% in 2022. In contrast, 15.4% of diesel drivers, 14.1% of hybrid car owners, and 10.7% of petrol-powered motorists reported being stranded in their vehicles since 2022.
The survey’s findings are based on responses from approximately 17,300 drivers who provided information about their vehicles’ fuel types out of the 30,000 surveyed. The breakdown included about 7,700 petrol drivers, 5,100 diesel drivers, nearly 2,900 hybrid owners, and 1,600 EV motorists.
The survey also investigated how often broken-down cars required towing versus roadside repairs. It was found that about two in five EVs needed to be taken elsewhere for repairs, compared to just 30% of petrol cars.
However, electric car advocates questioned the survey’s rigor. Ben Nelmes, CEO of the consultancy New Automotive, suggested that the MOT failure rate might be a more reliable indicator of vehicle reliability in the UK. He noted that battery-powered electric vehicles have a lower failure rate than comparable petrol and diesel vehicles, except for three-year-old vehicles where the failure rate is similar.
Ginny Buckley, CEO of Electrifying, an electric car buying advice website, countered that data from companies like Start Rescue indicates EVs are 59% less likely to break down than their petrol or diesel counterparts. She added that when EVs do break down, the issues are often minor, such as problems with tyres, wheels, or the 12-volt battery, and that expensive mechanical failures are rare due to EVs’ simpler engineering and fewer moving parts.
