Electric vehicles may not be cheaper to repair and maintain than internal-combustion-engine equivalents in every case, according to real-world fleet data.
EVs are often claimed to trump ICE cars on servicing, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs, but analysis by e-commerce firm Epyx, which specialises in facilitating SMR transactions for fleets, has revealed circumstances in which they fare both better and worse in similar types of usage, along with variations by model.
The firm compared a series of equivalent EVs and ICE cars across three metrics: the number of visits to service outlets, the number of days off the road due to SMR issues and workshop costs (including tyres and repairs).
The first example was a common fleet hatchback on a three-year, 25,000-30,000-mile cycle.