According to a new study, the cost of repairing electric vehicles after a crash in the US is 20 percent higher than that of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The research conducted by Mitchell showed that the average claim for electric vehicles with repairable damage after a crash in the US will be $5,753 in the second quarter of 2024. Here are the details…

Electric vehicle crash repair costs 20 percent higher than internal combustion vehicles

In Canada, this figure was determined as 6,534 Canadian dollars. In contrast, the average repair cost of internal combustion vehicles in the US was calculated as 4,806 Canadian dollars, and in Canada it was 4,958 Canadian dollars. Based on this difference, the repair cost of electric vehicles in Canada is 31 percent more expensive than internal combustion vehicles.

According to the study, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y were the electric vehicle models with the most accident claims in the US and Canada. This is due to Tesla vehicles being more common on the roads. It was also found that repair costs for mild hybrids are similar to internal combustion engine vehicles, but repair costs for more complex plug-in hybrids are 12.5 percent higher than for ICE vehicles.

The research reveals that due to the increasing complexity of new generation vehicles, the scrapping rates of both new fuel vehicles and electric vehicles are very close to each other. For example, while the scrapping rate of new fuel vehicles is 9.45 percent , this rate for electric vehicles is 9.16 percent.

Additionally, EVs are less likely to require chassis repairs compared to ICE vehicles (8.18 percent vs. 5.21 percent), suggesting that EVs may have higher structural integrity, but more data is needed to support this finding.

The research provides important information to understand why electric vehicles have higher repair costs and how this is reflected in insurance claims. For electric vehicle owners, we can interpret this situation as repair costs may increase over time.