Electric cars that have traveled long distances demonstrated a lower failure rate than gasoline models during the mandatory vehicle inspection conducted in the United Kingdom. This finding comes from an analysis conducted by the consultancy New AutoMotive, commissioned by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), which examined 47.4 million MOT tests on vehicles aged between three and eight years.
For electric vehicles that accumulated between 145,000 and 193,000 kilometers, only 16.5% failed, contrasting with 22.1% of gasoline cars in the same age and mileage bracket, representing a reduction of approximately 25% in the failure rate.
This disparity is more pronounced in vehicles with over 193,000 kilometers driven: the failure rate for electric vehicles reached 16%, while for gasoline models it rose to 23.5%. At lower mileages, the advantage becomes almost nonexistent; between 32,000 and 64,000 km, electric vehicles registered a 12% failure rate compared to 11.7% of gasoline-powered vehicles.
The study was based on official MOT records, which is the compulsory annual inspection in the UK for vehicles over three years old. This test assesses minimum safety and emission criteria, covering items such as tires, steering, suspension, brakes, lighting, and the car's structure, but does not include checking the remaining capacity of batteries in electric vehicles. For combustion engine cars, engine performance and transmission condition are also not considered.
In Brazil, there is no equivalent examination in force. Although Article 104 of the Brazilian Traffic Code provides for periodic technical inspection, the resolution from Contran responsible for its implementation was suspended in 2018.
Additionally, the research identified nearly twice as many tire-related defects in electric vehicles, being 1.8 times higher than in gasoline cars. In high-mileage models, brake system problems were less frequent, however, older electric vehicles with low mileage showed more failures in friction brakes. Researchers attribute this occurrence to corrosion, since regenerative braking reduces the use of friction components.
Ben Nelmes, CEO of New AutoMotive, highlighted that the strength of this investigation lies in distinguishing between age and mileage. He commented to the British publication Fleet News that analyzing only general MOT data can distort the picture, as the country's electric fleet is significantly newer than gasoline and diesel cars but tends to travel much further.
When comparing vehicles of the same age and mileage, the failure rate for electric vehicles stabilizes starting from approximately 97,000 km, while that of gasoline cars continues to rise. According to Nelmes, the mechanical simplicity of the electric powertrain gains relevance as the vehicle accumulates mileage.
There are important caveats. The research does not allow for assessing the state of the batteries, a crucial component in a high-mileage electric vehicle. Furthermore, as noted by the website Carscoops, BVRLA represents more than a thousand rental, leasing, and fleet management companies in the UK, many of which have high-mileage electric vehicles about to enter the used market.