According to a new report from analytics company We Predict, EVs average twice as much in repair costs as conventional vehicles, and nearly three times as much as hybrids.
I didn't realize it's such a big gap but then again since everything is so new and changing in the EV world it kind of makes sense.
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Meanwhile, electric vehicles (EVs) average twice as much in repair costs as conventional vehicles, and nearly three times as much as hybrids.
That’s from an inaugural report from analytics company We Predict, based in Michigan. The report, Deepview True Cost Report, looked at service records for model-year-2021 vehicles after three months from delivery.
The report looked at more than 801,000 vehicles across 306 models, covering 1.6 million service or repair orders. The visits included warranty, recalls, diagnostics, software updates, and maintenance, although since the vehicles were so new, maintenance accounted for only 8 per cent of the costs. The report looked strictly at repairs, and did not factor in fuel, insurance, or other costs.
On average, non-premium vehicles averaged US$33 in repair costs during those three months, while premium vehicles were US$69. The average parts cost for EVs was US$65, compared to US$28 for gasoline vehicles, and US$24 for hybrids. Average labour cost for EV repairs was US$58, while gasoline vehicles came in at US$25, and hybrids at US$22.
The report focused on U.S. service records, but Renee Stephens, We Predict’s vice-president of North American operations, told Driving.ca that “problems that manifest in the U.S. also manifest in Canada.” Some cold-weather problems have higher frequency rates in Canadian provinces, “but…outside of currency conversion rates, issues are similar.”
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So why are EVs so much costlier to fix than gasoline vehicles, especially when they have fewer moving parts? Stephens told Driving.ca it’s due to several factors, including that “five of the top parts serviced were EV-specific parts, which are new and high-cost. Some are sealed and cannot be serviced, and are typically swapped out.”
She added that the cost of parts is only part of the story, as “labour costs were also double. Technicians spent a lot longer diagnosing and confirming repairs on electric vehicles, in many cases billing additional hours on top of standard time paid for by manufacturers [under warranty]. They called in to automakers’ headquarters to talk directly to engineers, conducted multiple test-drives, and documented that they were taking longer to fix these models, to ensure they (were) making the correct repairs. Another factor that added cost is that the technicians that work on these vehicles were highly certified, resulting in higher rates.”
I didn't realize it's such a big gap but then again since everything is so new and changing in the EV world it kind of makes sense.
Honda is tops for lowest repair costs, while EV bills are double those of gas cars
How much a vehicle costs in its first three months can indicate how much you'll spend down the road
www.driving.ca
Meanwhile, electric vehicles (EVs) average twice as much in repair costs as conventional vehicles, and nearly three times as much as hybrids.
That’s from an inaugural report from analytics company We Predict, based in Michigan. The report, Deepview True Cost Report, looked at service records for model-year-2021 vehicles after three months from delivery.
The report looked at more than 801,000 vehicles across 306 models, covering 1.6 million service or repair orders. The visits included warranty, recalls, diagnostics, software updates, and maintenance, although since the vehicles were so new, maintenance accounted for only 8 per cent of the costs. The report looked strictly at repairs, and did not factor in fuel, insurance, or other costs.
On average, non-premium vehicles averaged US$33 in repair costs during those three months, while premium vehicles were US$69. The average parts cost for EVs was US$65, compared to US$28 for gasoline vehicles, and US$24 for hybrids. Average labour cost for EV repairs was US$58, while gasoline vehicles came in at US$25, and hybrids at US$22.
The report focused on U.S. service records, but Renee Stephens, We Predict’s vice-president of North American operations, told Driving.ca that “problems that manifest in the U.S. also manifest in Canada.” Some cold-weather problems have higher frequency rates in Canadian provinces, “but…outside of currency conversion rates, issues are similar.”
--
So why are EVs so much costlier to fix than gasoline vehicles, especially when they have fewer moving parts? Stephens told Driving.ca it’s due to several factors, including that “five of the top parts serviced were EV-specific parts, which are new and high-cost. Some are sealed and cannot be serviced, and are typically swapped out.”
She added that the cost of parts is only part of the story, as “labour costs were also double. Technicians spent a lot longer diagnosing and confirming repairs on electric vehicles, in many cases billing additional hours on top of standard time paid for by manufacturers [under warranty]. They called in to automakers’ headquarters to talk directly to engineers, conducted multiple test-drives, and documented that they were taking longer to fix these models, to ensure they (were) making the correct repairs. Another factor that added cost is that the technicians that work on these vehicles were highly certified, resulting in higher rates.”
