Car Fule

And if the electric cars ultimately had higher maintenance costs than combustion engines?

In reality, we are talking about theelectric car maintenance during the first months after putting into circulation of a new model. In this case, maintenance is much more expensive than that of combustion engine vehicles.

Indeed, during this period, the maintenance costs (which of course includes repairs, not just overhauls) are approximately 2.3 times higher for an electric car than a thermal one. After one year of use, the maintenance of electric vehicles is still 1.6 times more expensive.

These data, which seem ubiquitous in relation to the preconceived idea that one might have, are in any case the result of an analysis of We Predict. Study for which the American market research institute used data from around 19 million vehicles put into circulation between 2016 and 2021.

Electricity is still a very recent technology

These numbers may come as a surprise to many, because after all, electric cars are considered significantly cheaper to maintain and repair than internal combustion vehicles.

Renee Stephens, vice president of We Predict, believes that the new technology, still unknown to many, is the cause. ” The industry is in the process of bringing electrical technology to the market“, He would have declared, according to Automotive News Europe. « We see this as a launch factor« .

We Predict data shows technicians are spending twice the time to diagnose problems electric vehicles than gasoline cars. Repairs take 1.5 times longer, and the average amount of work is 1.3 times higher.

Moreover, the fact that the technology is still “juvenile” compared to fossil fuels has seen some reliability problems. For example, we remember Chevrolet’s recall campaign for their Bolts produced between 2017 and 2019. They had a significant fire risk. Concrete examples therefore of a maintenance cost which can quickly be significant.

Big differences between manufacturers

Beyond what this signed study highlights We Predict, we note that there are also big differences between the manufacturers.

After three months of operation, the maintenance costs of the Ford Mach-E for example amounted to 93 dollars per vehicle. Among the competition, theAudi E-tron charged $ 366 per vehicle. The Porsche Taycan cost $ 667 per vehicle, while the Jaguar I-Pace cost almost $ 834 per car!

If the cost of maintaining an electric vehicle is higher in the first year with, however, a marked decrease over time, it would be more interesting to analyze the data on several years of ownership and make a conclusion at that time. the.

Good news, the We Predict institute has planned to do a study on maintenance costs during the first three years! The opportunity to really take stock of the real maintenance costs in this electric vs thermal fight.

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