Electric vehicles 'break down more often than petrol, diesel and hybrid cars', says What Car? and the AA

Daily Mail​

17-06-2025

Electric vehicles break down and leave drivers stranded at the roadside more often than their petrol and diesel engine equivalents, owners reveal.
Of the 30,000 drivers who completed What Car's latest Reliability Survey over the past two years, one in ten (10.9 per cent) said their motor had suffered a fault that rendered it undrivable.
However, when reviewing the feedback from motorists by vehicle fuel type, the poll suggested that drivers of EVs are more likely to need to call for breakdown assistance.
Of the battery car drivers who filled in the survey, 16.8 per cent said their car had broken down in the last 24 months. That compares to just 10.7 per cent of petrol car owners. Hybrids (14.1 per cent) and diesels (15.4 per cent) too had a statistically lower rate of breakdowns, the report said.
And it also went on to show that when electric cars do suffer issues, they are less likely to be repaired at the roadside by a breakdown patrols, meaning drivers cannot continue on their journeys.
The report comes in the wake of AA bosses claiming that EV breakdowns are more common despite a general misconception that they are more reliable because they have fewer moving parts than a traditional car.
Electric vehicles break down and leave drivers stranded at the roadside more often than their petrol and diesel engine equivalents, What Car? and the AA have both stated this week
EV drivers reported that only in one in four instances where their battery cars were stranded at the roadside did the breakdown company manage to permanently fix the issue so they could get back on the route.
In contrast, two in five petrol car owners said a patrol had them back on the road again after being called out.
Unsurprisingly, EVs were the fuel type most commonly transported (because they can't be towed due to the risk of damage to the e-motors if the driven wheels are rotated) to garages for repairs.
In 40.6 per cent of EV breakdowns, the cars had to be recovered from the roadside, whereas only 29.6 per cent of petrol cars were towed to nearby garages or the owner's home.
BREAKDOWNS BY FUEL TYPE
Fuel type Broken down Permanently fixed Temporarily fix Towed Not towed
Petrol 10.7% 40.1% 22.7% 29.6% 7.7%
Diesel 15.4% 30.4% 26.0% 36.5% 7.1%
Hybrid 14.1% 33.8% 30.1% 32.3% 3.8%
Electric 16.8% 25.0% 20.8% 40.6% 13.5%
Source: WhatCar? Reliability Survey based on feedback from almost 30k UK car owners
The report comes just days after bosses at the AA reported that it is attending a higher share of electric car breakdowns that petrols and diesels.
Jakob Pfaudler, CEO at the breakdown service provider, said EVs are prone not only to punctures and flat batteries like all cars with internal combustion engines, but also to a host of problems relating specifically to electric models, including jammed charging cables and technical glitches.
Speaking to The Telegraph, he said it was a 'common misconception' that battery cars are less susceptible to faults than because they have fewer moving parts than internal combustion engine equivalents, claiming the breakdown rate is actually 'slightly higher' for EVs.
Edmund King, president of the motoring organisation, added that EV drivers are more likely to be confused and flustered by warning lights in zero-emission cars and pull off the road to call for assistance.
In stark contrast, he said petrol car drivers are typically more likely to drive to the nearest garage when confronted with warning signals, such as an icon suggesting low oil pressure.
However, Mr King estimated that nine in ten breakdowns involving EVs could be dealt with at the roadside versus 86 per cent for traditional cars, with the battery models often needing a 'simple reboot'. Though this is in conflict to what drivers told What Car?.
Drivers of EVs did have some positives to report relating to breakdowns...
Jakob Pfaudler, the AA's CEO, said EVs are prone to a host of problems relating specifically to battery models, including jammed charging cables and technical glitches
EVs are the fuel type most commonly transported to garages for repairs after a breakdown. They can't be towed due to the risk of damage to the e-motors if the driven wheels are rotated
They told the automotive title that breakdown-related faults were typically resolved for free - more so than any other fuel type, in fact.
According to the survey data, 89 per cent of faulty EVs are rectified at no cost to the driver, and only 3 per cent had to pay more than £1,500 to get their battery cars back on the road after a breakdown.
That's almost as impressive as the record for hybrid cars: 91 per cent of these were fixed for free, and only 2 per cent of owners reported having to pay over £1,500 to have issues resolved.
While petrol cars suffer fewer breakdowns than EVs and hybrids, they are more likely to land owners with repair bills: only 76 per cent of petrol cars were fixed for free, owners told What Car?.
Diesels are the least likely to be fixed gratis, though: only two third of drivers had the cost of their car repairs covered.
Who is providing the best breakdown service?
What Car? also looked at the level of service provided by nine major breakdown recovery companies, and by independent recovery services.
Respondents who had used a breakdown provider in the last two years were asked how long they had to wait for help to arrive and how good the service they received was.
Patrols that arrived in an hour or less and got cars going again gained the highest marks; those that took more than two hours to arrive and didn't fix the car or recover it for repair were given the lowest marks.
BEST RATED BREAKDOWN ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS
Rank Provider Time rating Quality rating Overall rating
1 Britannia Rescue 5 4 5
2 Independents* 4 5 4
3 AA 3 4 4
4 Start Rescue 4 3 4
5 Emergency Assist 3 4 4
6 Green Flag 3 4 4
7 GEM Motoring Assist 2 5 4
8 Autoaid 4 3 3
9 RAC 2 4 3
10 Allianz 2 3 2
Source: WhatCar? Reliability Survey based on feedback from almost 30k UK car owners (Rating out of 5 stars)
*Independents category includes responses from a number of independent recovery services and garages
Overall, the best breakdown provider was Britannia Rescue.
Its patrols attended three-quarters of callouts in less than an hour, and they enabled 53 percent of car owners to continue their journeys.
At the bottom of the satisfaction chart was Allianz, which offers cover directly to car manufacturers, rather than policies that consumers can independently subscribe to.
While it was marginally quicker to respond to callouts than the RAC, it was the worst for performing permanent repairs to stricken cars.