Electric Vehicle Reliability: A Comparative Analysis with Internal Combustion Engine Cars

Recent research has shown that electric vehicles (EVs) are far less likely to break down than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. EVs are significantly simpler, especially when it comes to the number of moving parts and maintenance requirements. Electric vehicles almost never require fluid changes, and their brake pads can last for hundreds of thousands of miles. However, when an EV does break down, it often requires specialized technicians for repair.

We have previously published several studies on the reliability of electric vehicles. Now, let’s take a closer look at the failure rates of EVs and compare them with gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.

Thanks to the German Automobile Club (ADAC), a large amount of data on roadside assistance requests for electric vehicles has been collected. It is important to note that the following results do not directly represent reliability. Due to the ADAC's methodology, these statistics reflect the number of failures per thousand vehicles. From 2020 to 2022, the average failure rate for electric vehicles was 4.2 per thousand vehicles, whereas the failure rate for gasoline vehicles was much higher, at 10.4 per thousand vehicles.

The great news here is that the failure rate continues to decline for both powertrains. For example, in 2020, the average failure rate for electric vehicles was 8.5 failures per thousand vehicles. For gasoline internal combustion vehicles, the average was 12.9 per 1000. In 2021, the EV failure rate was 4.3 failures per 1000 vehicles, and then the EV failure rate dropped again in 2022 to 1.7 failures per thousand vehicles. Gasoline specifications also show a decrease in failure rates from an average of 8.2, in 2021, to an average of 5.4 failures in 2022.

Because there is more good news, so far, the number one cause of most EV failure types, ie warranty claims, remains unchanged, and it is the same low-voltage battery, which is virtually the same in both electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles. Those of you who are Evs-junkies, understand exactly this type of failure, as we have previously written an extensive article on the topic. Lots of you perhaps worrying about the big failures for your expensive EV (high-voltage battery) and useless if an expensive unit fails.