According to BookMyGarage.com‘s latest bookings data, Electric Vehicles (EVs) are significantly cheaper to service than petrol, hybrid or diesel models.
It’s data shows that an EV service costs on average £103 – around a third less expensive than diesel, hybrid, and petrol vehicles. Diesel cars are the most expensive to service, costing £163 on average, with hybrid vehicles ranking second (£159), followed by petrol engine cars (£151).
Furthermore, overall average maintenance bills (including MOT tests, servicing and repairs) cost up to 43% less for EVs compared to other fuel types.
Electric Car Servicing is Cheaper, Despite Premium Prices For New EVs
Although the price of a new electric vehicle commands a premium over its ICE equivalent, EV owners will benefit from significantly lower maintenance costs, including servicing.
A key reason for lower EV servicing costs is that there are fewer moving parts and therefore less work is required during a typical service compared to ICE vehicles.
Jessica Potts, Head of Marketing at BookMyGarage.com, said “When it comes to servicing cars, there is some work that is common to all fuel types, such as replacing the cabin filter, topping up the screen wash and carrying out safety inspections.
“However, EV powertrains are a lot simpler and don’t require engine oil changes, air filters, spark plugs (on petrol engines) and fuel filters (on diesel engines).
“The reduction in work means that servicing an electric vehicle requires less labour and fewer replacement parts and fluids, helping to lower costs.”
Electric Car Servicing Is Still New, so There Are Fewer Options For Drivers
Although EVs cost less to service, there are currently far fewer EV-qualified garages available to drivers. This will change in the coming years as garages are forced to adapt to the growing demand for electric vehicles, which represented 16.6% of new car sales in 2022 according to the latest SMMT data.
“We make it easy for motorists to find a garage that’s qualified to work on an electric vehicle. Our EV Hub is full of advice, such as the best family EVs, and tips about charging your vehicle. It’s perfect for both current and prospective EV owners who need more information about what is best for them and their cars,” Potts continued.
“When you enter an electric vehicle’s registration on our website to compare servicing prices, we automatically filter the results to garages who are qualified to look after your EV.”
To book a service for your EV, enter your reg and postcode into our booking tool and compare local EV-qualified garages.
1 thought on “EV servicing costs a third less than ICE servicing on average”
All ICE vehicles should have fuel and air filters. There is talk that EVs need fewer services. Well, not quite. Part of a traditional service is also an inspection of the vehicle to ensure that everything is still in good order. This will include tyres, brakes, lights, ball joints, CV joints, general suspension and steering. EV cars have this as much as an ICE vehicle. By not getting the vehicle inspected on a regular basis, faults can go undetected.
The government is consulting on having the first MoT at 4 years rather than the current 3 and subsequent tests every 2 years rather than annually. 2 years is a long time for a fault to go undetected, during which time it can go from advisory to dangerous or even worse, failing.
There are several issues surrounding dealing with EVs. First of all, the battery is so powerful that if approached the wrong way, can be fatal. 400 volts of DC power will kill, not least because it causes muscles to clamp shut making it impossible to let go. AC tends to throw you off. DC clamps you on.
Then there is the issue of fire. If Li Ion batteries go wrong, they end up catching fire. Samsung had a problem with batteries a few years ago and the news was full of melted, twisted phones. These batteries are rated at around 3,000 MAh, so even if they go wrong, they can be fairly easily dealt with. Car batteries are running at anything up to 1,500 amps. The mains fuse to a 3 bedroom terraced house is 60 amps. We are talking a whole order of magnitude difference here. These things are seriously dangerous if anything goes wrong.
Then there is the weight issue. These vehicles are much heavier than normal, meaning that ramps, jacks and axle stands all have to be upgraded. The cost will be huge across the industry. Therefore, servicing costs for an EV will have to rise to cover this considerable investment.
ICE vehicles will be around for some considerable time yet because people have woken up to the limitations of EVs and are being very slow to adopt them. Furthermore, as rare earth ingredients rise in cost, they will become ever more expensive. Even humble copper required for the motors will exceed global production.
Apart from pottering around town, EVs are a nonsense, added to which commercials face a dramatically reduced payload which will also drive up costs.