A comprehensive study of millions of UK vehicles based on annual MOT test data indicates that electric cars demonstrate higher long-term reliability compared to petrol models. While early failure rates are similar, the performance gap grows significantly as vehicles accumulate higher mileage.
Data shows that at 120,000 miles, petrol cars are 7.5% more likely to fail their roadworthiness tests than electric vehicles, with failure rates reaching 23.5% for petrol versus 16% for EVs. This trend persists across both age and mileage brackets.
Electric vehicles consistently show fewer suspension issues regardless of mileage. While regenerative braking reduces overall brake wear, the study notes that EVs older than 10 years may face increased brake problems due to corrosion from underuse.
Tire wear remains a notable challenge for electric vehicles, often exceeding that of petrol cars due to increased weight. Purpose-built electric platforms, such as the BMW i3, generally exhibit lower tire wear rates compared to multi-powertrain models like the VW Golf.
The findings extend to light commercial vehicles, where the electric Nissan NV200 outperformed its diesel counterpart in reliability metrics, excluding tire wear. The study did not evaluate battery health, as this parameter is not included in standard MOT testing.
