The data is in: EVs far less likely to break down than ICE cars

One anti-EV trope doing occasional rounds on social and even mainstream media is the reliability of battery electric cars, and the unsubstantiated claim that  “due to their electronic complexity, BEVs are more likely to leave you stranded.”

It is true that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are more complex than a 1970s Holden (which was about as electrically complex as a Bunsen burner).

But if you open up the bonnet of an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles these days you will be presented with a veritable maze of wires, sensors and controllers handling everything from exhaust system outputs, ignition (and valve) timing, gearbox controls, etc, etc, etc.

As a result, to some – including those inclined to leave the opening it of their late model ICE car to the mechanic), the idea of BEV electronic complexity causing more break-down issues may sound passingly believable, even if EVs have little more than extra luggage space under their bonnets.

It is therefore instructive to see if break-down statistics coming from more mature EV markets (like the UK) back-up the claim. In the UK, new BEVs have reached almost 18% of total passenger car sales with a cumulative total of over 1,000,000 BEVs on the road.

UK breakdown rescue business Start Rescue has recently analysed their call-out data for new to ten year old cars to discover that BEVs of an equivalent age are almost 60% less likely to require a breakdown call-out than ICE ones.

Even 12V battery call-outs were slightly lower for BEVs than petrol or diesel cars. (23.7% of call-outs for BEVs compared to 29.7% for petrol and diesel).

To quote Lee Puffett, Managing Director of Start Rescue: “Our figures show electric cars ranging from new to 10-years old are 59% less prone to breakdowns than ICE cars.

“This might surprise some motorists, but with more than a million EVs now on the UK’s roads it shows drivers can choose an EV confident that they are less likely to be stranded at the roadside.”

So to all you BEV owners and prospective buyers out there – the data is in. You will arrive more often without a breakdown in a battery electric rather than an ICE car.