E-cars have fewer breakdowns than their combustion counterparts

With just 2.8 breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles, electric vehicles registered for the first time in 2021 fare much better than combustion engines, which have 6.4 breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles. That is around 3.6 fewer breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles.

This confirms a trend of recent years, even if it is still too early for a conclusive assessment of the general breakdown safety of electric cars according to the ADAC.

Breakdown cause number 1: the starter battery

At 44.1 percent, the most common cause of breakdowns in 2023 was still a faulty or discharged starter battery. Number two was problems with the engine or engine management (22.8 percent), followed at a considerable distance in third place by breakdowns to the starter motor, alternator, vehicle electrical system and lighting (10.5 percent). In fourth and fifth place were tires (8.8 percent) and locking systems (7.1 percent). This results in a similar distribution to the previous year.

A look at the new registrations from 2021

A closer look at the vehicles newly registered in 2021 shows that the battery is also the number one weak point - for both combustion and electric cars. However, with a breakdown rate of 2.4 breakdowns per 1000 registered vehicles, classically powered cars are well ahead of electric cars (1.2) when it comes to batteries.

There is also a clear difference between conventional drives (1.4) and electric vehicles (0.9) when it comes to the second most common cause of breakdowns for this year - defective tires. This is probably largely due to the lower mileage of electric vehicles.

There are also significant differences in problems relating to the engine: while this area is responsible for 1.2 breakdowns per 1000 vehicles in 2021 cars with conventional drive systems, the figure for electrically powered models is only 0.2 breakdowns.

In contrast, there are hardly any differences between the drive types when it comes to brakes, chassis and bodywork.

Evaluations of ADAC road patrols

For the breakdown statistics, the ADAC road patrols are analyzed. For the current statistics, all breakdowns that occurred during 2023 on vehicles aged 3 to 10 years (first registration 2014 to 2021) were taken into account. A total of 156 models from around 20 car brands were examined.

The prerequisite is that the model series must have at least 7,000 registrations within two years. If this condition is met, all vehicle vintages with at least 5000 registrations are evaluated. New additions in 2023 include the VW ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq electric models.

Good selection of reliable vehicle models

A model series is considered reliable in the breakdown statistics if its breakdown rate is in the top 40 percent in all vintages between three and ten years. The good news is that there is still a good selection of reliable models in most vehicle classes.

The leaders among the three-year-old vehicles in the current statistics are BMW's i3 (0.4), the Mini (0.4) and the BMW X1 (0.7); in total, eleven models of this vintage achieved a breakdown rate of less than 1. The Toyota Yaris (27.8), Ford Kuga (25.4) and Toyota C-HR (22.0), which were first registered in 2021, came in last place.

In 2023, a Yellow Angel was called out every nine seconds. In total, ADAC roadside assistance was called out over 3.5 million times last year - that is 117,570 more breakdowns than in the previous year. The average age of the vehicles involved in breakdowns rose by 0.2 to 12.9 years last year. According to the statistics, vehicles between the ages of 18 and 23 are the most likely to break down.