Despite several reports claiming otherwise, a new study has found that electric vehicles are being deregistered in Britain less frequently than petrol and diesel vehicles.
Internal combustion engine (ICE) cars pay for themselves at twice the rate of fully electric vehicles, according to automotive data experts Cap HPI.
The study, which examined data from 2015 to August 2024, found that 0.9 percent of electric vehicles less than five years old have been decommissioned, compared with 1.89 percent of gasoline and diesel vehicles.
Several reports over the past 12 months have suggested that the write-off rate for electric vehicles is exceptionally high due to unaffordable repair costs. However, Cap Hpi says that petrol and diesel cars are written off at more than twice the rate of electric vehicles, based on figures for the past decade.
A similar gap persists for one-year-old models, where the percentage falls to 0.2 percent for electric vehicles and 0.4 percent for internal combustion vehicles.
The report is the latest bit of good news around electric vehicles, following claims earlier this week that batteries in the latest electric models now last 20 years or more and generally have a longer lifespan than components in conventional engines.
Jon Clay, director of identification at Cap HPI, said: ‘The study challenges one of the many misconceptions about electric vehicles.
‘The data clearly shows that electric vehicles are being discarded at half the rate of petrol and diesel vehicles.
‘We work hard to provide an accurate picture of the automotive sector to both the industry and consumers, from valuation data to provenance checks and trend analysis.
‘The automotive industry must collectively address the wave of misinformation surrounding electric vehicles that is present online to enable consumers and fleet customers to make informed and balanced decisions about their next vehicle.’
The analysis reveals that there are currently 1.25 million electric vehicles less than five years old on UK roads. Of these, 355,000 are less than 12 months old.
According to the latest official car registration figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, BEV registrations rose 10.8 percent in August compared to the same period last year and accounted for 22.6 percent of all new vehicles – the highest market share seen since December 2022.
The Cap Hpi data contradicts a number of reports over the past year or so that have made bold claims that EV write-offs are much more common.
A Reuters report last year warned of a rise in the number of electric vehicles being written off due to minor damage to their batteries. Pictured: Damaged electric and hybrid cars at the depot of British salvage firm Synetiq in Doncaster
An investigation by Reuters in March 2023 suggested that insurance companies are increasingly left with little or no choice but to permanently remove electric cars from the road after minor collisions, which in turn is driving up premiums.
The report warned of scratched and slightly damaged battery packs “piling up in scrapyards in some countries” and experts said batteries in Tesla’s expensive SUVs and cars have “no repair capability” because they are a structural part of the car.
Further research last year by UK-based automotive risk intelligence firm Thatcham Research also warned that electric vehicles are more expensive to repair, take longer to fix and are more often scrapped as a result of damage to their batteries.
Is Report on the impact of the adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEV) in the repair and insurance sectors A study published last July, funded by Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency, says road collisions involving an electric car are often “catastrophic for the vehicle”.
This chart shows repairs of electric vehicles and high-voltage batteries as a proportion of total repairs.
Thatcham Research showed the impact of a low-gravity impact on a Tesla and the damage it can cause to the battery casing, which would then need to be repaired or replaced.
The casings in which batteries are stored often have a wide structure, making them especially vulnerable to side collisions.
This is due to a “concerning lack of affordable or available post-accident diagnostics and repair solutions,” which often results in EVs being scrapped as uneconomical to return to the road.
This is most commonly the case if the high-voltage battery has been damaged as a result of a collision. Batteries in electric cars represent a substantial percentage of the vehicle’s original value, and if they are damaged, insurers often consider the cost of repairing or replacing them to exceed the total existing value of the car.
The study said the cost of replacing EV batteries varies widely by model, though it is an extremely expensive process no matter the car in question.
For example, the cost of a new battery for a top-of-the-range electric car is around £29,500, according to Thatcham Research. This is more than the price of a new Volkswagen T-Roc petrol SUV.
And for “budget” electric models, it estimates the average battery replacement cost is £14,200 – more than a Dacia Sandero, Britain’s cheapest car.
Earlier this year, This is Money reported on the difficulties some Chinese EV owners were having insuring their vehicles.
This was due to a lack of available parts and expertise to repair them, which in turn resulted in vehicles being written off for relatively low levels of crash damage.
Drivers of BYD and GWM Ora models explained that they faced extremely high coverage quotes because only a few insurance providers underwrite them due to the difficulty of repairing them.
The government has recognised the need to tackle misinformation surrounding electric vehicles.
Last year, Richard Bruce, director of transport decarbonisation at the Department for Transport, said: “I think there’s been an impact of a concerted misinformation campaign over the last 14 months or so that’s been pushing consistent myths about electric vehicles that people absorb and that’s reflected in their appetite[for buying electric vehicles].
‘Almost every day there is a story against electric vehicles in the newspapers.
‘Sometimes there are many stories, almost all based on misconceptions and falsehoods, unfortunately.’
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