- Electric vehicles are less reliable than gas cars, according to a survey of UK drivers.
- Nearly one third of EVs had a fault, compared with a rate of 18.6% for gasoline vehicles.
- Kia was the most reliable EV maker in the study, while Tesla was the least reliable.
Automakers are still working out the kinks when it comes to the reliability of electric vehicles, according to a recent survey of owners.
More than 48,000 UK drivers were polled by the consumer reviews website Which about the 56,853 cars they own and drive, including 2,184 EVs. Vehicles in the study were less than four years old.
Nearly one-third of the EVs were reported as having one or more faults in the 12 months before the survey, compared to less than one in five gas cars that had problems.
Diesel-powered cars were the second-least reliable category, while traditional hybrid cars were the most reliable overall.
"It seems counterintuitive that electric cars, which have so few moving parts, are the most fault prone in our survey. Meanwhile full hybrids, which have two systems of propulsion, are the most dependable," said Which? cars expert Adrian Porter.
Interestingly, the most reliable compact SUV in the entire study — across combustion engines and EVs alike — was the e-Niro from Kia, which is sold in the US under the name Niro EV.
Just 6.2% of e-Niro owners reported problems in the survey period, and a mere 1% had a breakdown where the car wouldn't start. That's a small fraction of the 31.4% problem rate and 8.1% breakdown rate for the EV category overall.
According to Porter, the main issues EV owners reported were with car software, non-primary 12-volt batteries, and electric braking aids.
Tesla was the most-owned electric car brand in the survey, but its models are among the least reliable.
"Year on year, Tesla comes up as one the most fault prone, unreliable car manufacturers thanks to feedback from current owners – we've called on the brand for two years running to recall its Model S," Porter said.
Other studies from Consumer Reports and J.D. Power's research have found that reliability issues don't really dent EV owners' satisfaction with their cars. Tesla owners reported some of the highest satisfaction ratings, according to J.D. Power.
Also, while the Which survey captures the number of faults that EVs had, it does not go into detail about the cost of these problems.
Prior comparison studies have found that EVs cost less to maintain than internal combustion cars, making them cheaper to own over the long term.
Those studies have found that in the first three years of ownership, EV maintenance and repair bills come in 31% less than those for gas-powered ones, a savings which actually offsets the initial price premium paid for the EV.
A report from the US Department of Energy last year estimated that EVs cost 6.1 cents per mile to maintain, compared with 10.1 cents per mile for combustion-engine vehicles.