According to a report by The Daily Telegraph, research by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), based on 47.4 million MOT annual inspection records, reveals that high-mileage electric vehicles (EVs) demonstrate significantly higher reliability compared to their gasoline counterparts over the same distance. Moreover, this reliability gap continues to widen as mileage increases. When mileage surpasses 120,000 miles, gasoline vehicles are nearly 47% more likely to fail than EVs, challenging the common belief that "EVs become more problematic over time." The MOT is a mandatory annual safety inspection in the UK that applies to all vehicles on the road, ensuring the data is statistically representative.

The study shows that at lower mileages, the failure rates of EVs and gasoline vehicles are nearly equal, with EVs even showing slightly higher rates in some cases. For instance, between 20,000 and 40,000 miles, the MOT failure rate for EVs stands at 12%, while for gasoline vehicles, it is 11.7%. However, starting from 60,000 miles, the failure rate of EVs stabilizes around 16%, forming a plateau. In contrast, the failure rates of gasoline and diesel vehicles continue to climb, reaching 23.5% beyond 120,000 miles. Between 90,000 and 120,000 miles, the failure rate for EVs is 16.5%, compared to 22.1% for gasoline vehicles, indicating that EVs are about 25% less likely to fail, with this gap widening as mileage increases.

These findings are consistent with the operating principles of EVs. Internal combustion engine vehicles contain numerous moving parts, and mechanical wear inevitably leads to an increased failure rate. In contrast, EVs have significantly fewer moving parts. Although batteries and electronic control systems may degrade over time, the overall failure curve for EVs is much smoother compared to that of internal combustion engines.

Toby Poston, CEO of BVRLA, stated that this data debunks assumptions about the reliability of used electric vehicles.