Repairing electric vehicles after collisions is 20% more expensive than repairing vehicles with combustion engines
The average repair claim for electric vehicles in the U.S. was $5,753 in the second quarter of 2024, compared to $4,806 for internal combustion engine vehicles.
- A new Mitchell study shows that the number of claims related to BEV collisions continues to rise.
- Despite slower sales growth, BEV accident claims in the U.S. increased 2.5% in the second quarter of 2024.
- In the US, repair costs for electric cars are 20% higher than for vehicles with combustion engines.
Despite the recent slowdown in growth in electric vehicle sales, accidental damage involving BEVs continues to rise in North America. Although their frames are less susceptible to damage, EVs are often more expensive to repair compared to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.
According to Mitchell’s latest study, claims for repairable collision-damaged BEVs increased by 2.5 percent in the U.S. and 3.95 percent in Canada in the second quarter of 2024. This increase occurred despite a decline in sales that led to a decline in BEV market share, which in the U.S. fell from 10.2% in the third quarter of 2023 to 9.3% in the first quarter of 2024.
More: New study: Technology for automated driving does not improve safety, technology for accident prevention does
Mitchell reports that the average claim amount for repairable BEVs in Q2 2024 was $5,753 in the U.S. and CAD$6,534 in Canada. In contrast, the average cost for internal combustion engine vehicles was significantly lower at $4,806 in the U.S. and CAD$4,958 in Canada. This means that collision-damaged BEVs were 20% more expensive to repair in the U.S. and a staggering 31% more expensive in Canada than similarly sized internal combustion engine vehicles.
In terms of makes and models, the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are the leading claim frequency groups among BEVs in both the US and Canada, accounting for more than half of all cases. This is not surprising considering how many of these vehicles are on the road, which naturally increases their likelihood of being involved in accidents compared to less common EVs.
The frequency of damage has also increased in hybrid vehicles. Mild hybrids, which are technically similar to vehicles with combustion engines, have comparable repair costs in the USA. However, the situation is different for the more complex plug-in hybrids: Here, the repair costs after an accident are 12.5% higher than for vehicles with combustion engines.
The frequency of total losses is strikingly similar for newer internal combustion engine vehicles and electric vehicles, with rates of 9.45% and 9.16%, respectively. This parity is due to the increasing complexity of modern vehicles, which makes them increasingly difficult and costly to repair.
Another interesting fact is that while BEVs require more mechanical labor hours per assessment on average, they are less likely to require frame repairs than comparable internal combustion engine vehicles (5.21 percent versus 8.18 percent). This suggests that the structural integrity of EVs may be higher than that of internal combustion engine vehicles, although more data is needed to confirm this statement.
