- Statistics compiled by German automotive association and breakdown providers, ADAC, shows that EVs are more reliable than their fossil-fuelled counterparts.
- The chance of breaking down in an EV is less than half that of an ICE vehicle, according to these fresh figures.
- The statistics, available here, also revealed the most common reason for an EV breakdown – and it’s likely not what most people would first assume
EVs come out on top in reliability study
One caveat of comparing electric car reliability to petrol/diesel car reliability is the age, with the average EV age much lower than the average ICE car (and, typically, newer cars are more reliable). ADAC counters that by exclusively comparing EV and ICE on models registered in 2020, 2021, and 2022. This model allows a fair comparison, focusing on cars between two and four years old. The data then looked at the rate of breakdowns through the year of 2024.
With this in mind, 2-4 year old EVs saw 3.8 breakdowns per 1,000 of such vehicles, whereas 2-4 year old ICE cars saw 9.4 breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles – showing that EVs had more than double the reliability at this age. ADAC also notes that with modern EVs being in relative infancy compared to combustion vehicles, it expects this EV breakdown rate to drop even further in the years to come.
How reliable are different EVs?
Broken down to specific EV models, the Tesla Model 3 came back as the most reliable electric car – with a breakdown rate of 0.5 per 1,000 vehicles. On the other end of the spectrum was the Hyundai IONIQ 5, with a breakdown rate of 22.4 per 1,000 vehicles.
Whilst EV batteries themselves have proven to be pretty long-lasting in recent studies, a key issue for EV breakdowns actually comes from the smaller 12-volt battery. It’s this smaller battery, which is relatively affordable to purchase and replace, that EV owners should be keeping an eye on. Whilst unlike in an ICE car, it doesn’t need to provide power to a starter motor, it’s still responsible for managing aspects such as locking and unlocking the vehicle, or powering connectivity features such as remote phone control. ADAC’s data found that the 12-volt battery was responsible for a significant 50% of all EV-based breakdowns, compared to being responsible for 45% of breakdowns in ICE vehicles.
