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Reports Indicate That Electric Cars Require Fewer Emergency Repairs And Have Simpler Maintenance Due To Having Fewer Moving Parts
The increase in the number of electric cars on the roads is starting to bring more solid data about their reliability. For the first time, the ADAC, Germany’s largest automotive club, concluded more accurately that electric vehicles have failures less frequently than those powered by gasoline or diesel.
According to the report published this year, electric models have more than double the reliability compared to cars with combustion engines.
Analysis Based On Real Assistance
The study considers only the assistance provided by ADAC itself in 2024. In total, there were 3.6 million assistance operations across the country. Of that total, 43,678 occurred with electric vehicles, representing 1.2% of the assistances.
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The proportion is still low, as there are fewer electrics on the streets compared to combustion engine models. However, the club emphasizes that, even among vehicles of the same age, electrics fail less.
The ADAC evaluates only models with at least 7,000 registered units in the two previous years. In total, about 160 models from 20 different brands were included in the analysis. All analyzed vehicles were between two and nine years old.
Among four-year-old vehicles, there were 8.5 assistances recorded for every thousand electrics. In contrast, among thermal cars of the same age, this number was 12.9. When considering all models between two to four years old, the rate was 3.8 per thousand for electrics and 9.4 for combustion cars.
The direct conclusion of the report is clear: electric cars exhibit more than double the reliability. That is, they have less than half the failures of thermal vehicles of the same age range.
Most Common Failures In Electric Cars Still Involve Batteries
Despite the overall advantage, electric cars lead in a specific category of failure: the 12-volt auxiliary battery. This component is responsible for half of the problems in electric cars, compared to 45% in combustion or hybrid vehicles.
This type of battery is different from the one that powers the vehicle. It is used for electronic systems, such as locks, windows, and lights. Even in electrics, which have more modern technology, this item remains vulnerable.
Electric Vehicles: Fewer Parts, Fewer Problems
The ADAC attributes much of the reliability of electric cars to their simpler mechanical structure. Electric models have fewer moving parts, naturally reducing points of wear and, consequently, the chances of failure.
Another factor is the lower thermal impact. Since electric motors do not operate with combustion, temperatures are lower. This contributes to a longer lifespan for various systems and parts.
Additionally, electronic engine management systems are more efficient and present fewer failures in electrics, according to the club.
Data Is Still Limited
The ADAC report is emphatic in stating that the results are based on data available so far, especially from models produced between 2020 and 2023. Therefore, these are still relatively new vehicles.
The club emphasizes that the coming years should bring more accurate information. As the fleet of electric cars ages, it will be possible to better understand how these models perform over time.
Tesla Leads Among The Most Reliable, But Not All Rankings Agree
Among the models analyzed, Tesla cars recorded the fewest failures. The Model 3 had only 0.5 occurrences per thousand cars. The Model Y had 0.9. Other models also stood out, such as the Audi Q4 e-tron (0.7) and the Volkswagen ID.4 (1.0).
On the other hand, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 had the worst performance among electrics with two years of use, with 22.4 failures per thousand units.
Despite the good performance in the ADAC data, the Tesla Model 3 received a different evaluation in another survey. According to the TüV report, responsible for technical inspection in Germany, the car was the electric model with the most failures in 2024. The main complaints involved headlights, brakes, and suspension.
The ADAC analysis represents an important advancement in comparing electric and combustion vehicles. Based on millions of assistances, the conclusion is that electrics fail less, especially due to having simpler structures and reduced wear.
However, the institution reinforces that this data still reflects an early moment in automotive electrification. Over time, as more electric cars age on the roads, reliability reports will become even more comprehensive and detailed.
With information from Xataka.
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