EVs are more reliable than ICE cars, and the more miles the greater the difference.

The findings by consultancy New Automotive and the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) note that the “60,000-mile rule is dead” as an analysis of 47.4 million MOT tests found electric cars become significantly less likely to fail than petrol equivalents as mileage climbs.

In the report, 90,000-120,000 miles of use left EVs are around 25 per cent less likely to fail an MOT than petrol cars of the same age and mileage, and beyond 120,000 miles, 16 per cent of EVs fail compared with 24 per cent of petrol cars.

In fact, EV failure rates level off at around 60,000 miles, challenging one of the oldest assumptions about buying a high-mileage used car.

The researchers found no evidence that heavier electric cars suffer greater suspension problems, although EVs do record more tyre defects, yet they have less mechanical moving parts. Also, battery health remains the missing piece, as the research did not measure the health or remaining capacity of an EV’s battery, just the roadworthiness.

Toby Poston, chief executive of the BVRLA, said: “Mileage has always been one of the first things people look at when buying a used car, and passing 60,000 or 70,000 miles can have a big impact on how a vehicle is perceived. This research suggests we need to think differently when it comes to electric vehicles.”

Regenerative braking produced a more complicated picture. High-mileage EVs experienced substantially fewer brake defects, but older, low-mileage electric cars showed increased friction-brake defects, which the researchers attribute to corrosion associated with the physical brakes being used less frequently.

Hybrid cars also performed strongly in the analysis and in several categories recorded lower MOT failure rates than either petrol cars or BEVs. The researchers stress that the study is therefore not intended to establish one powertrain as universally more reliable than another, but to test concerns about whether battery-electric vehicles become less roadworthy as they age and accumulate mileage.

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