Electric Cars Much Less Likely To Break Down Than Petrols And Diesels, German Study Finds

Electric vehicles EVs remain a controversial topic, particularly in countries such as South Africa where longer driving distances, electricity shortages and high import taxes continue to discourage mass adoption.

Its a different story in Europe, however, with the industry facing an EV mandate, and consequent sales ban for new internal combustion vehicles, from 2025.

Given the growing popularity of EVs, the German Automobile Club ADAC now has sufficient data to assess the reliability of battery cars in relation to their petrol and diesel counterparts.

The ADAC operates a popular breakdown service in that country, and drawing data from over 3.6 million callouts in 2024, it has now determined that electric cars are significantly more reliable than internal combustion ICE models, at least during the first few years of ownership.

ADACs data shows that among vehicles that are two to four years old, ICE vehicles were two and a half times more likely to break down than EVs, with 9.4 breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles versus 3.8.