According to a new report from Mitchell, the cost of repairing electric vehicles after an accident is on average $1,576 higher than their fossil fuel-powered counterparts.
And the frequency of claims for electric vehicles is increasing. In Canada, it rose by 3.94%, which represents an increase of 39% over the previous year.
Battery-powered electric vehicles cost Canadians an average of $6,534 in repair costs last quarter. In comparison, internal combustion engine vehicles cost $4,958 to repair – a difference of 31%.
This despite a decline in sales of battery-electric vehicles, which accounted for 9.2% of all vehicles purchased in the second quarter, compared to 10% at the end of 2023.
“It remains to be seen whether the decline in sales is temporary or reflects a broader shift in consumer sentiment,” says Mitchell report.
Nevertheless, sales of mild and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles increased by 69.7% compared to the end of 2023. Mild hybrids have small electric generators instead of the usual starter and alternator assemblies. This increases fuel efficiency and lowers emissions because the generator helps with quick acceleration and other fuel-intensive functions.
“As with BEVs (mild and plug-in hybrids), repairs after an accident can be more expensive than for vehicles with internal combustion engines,” says Ryan Mandell, claims manager at Mitchell.
“However, mild hybrids, which have both an internal combustion engine and a small electric battery, are remarkably similar to purely gasoline-powered vehicles in terms of the amount of damage.”
The damage costs also vary depending on the type of electric vehicle.
The average repair cost for mild hybrid electric vehicles (MHEVs) is $5,302. However, repair costs for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are around $5,665 because these vehicles require both a large, high-voltage battery and a secondary combustion engine.
British Columbia and Quebec are the Canadian provinces with the highest rates of repairable claims (7.07% and 5.14%, respectively), each representing an increase of less than one percent since the end of 2023.
The frequency of total losses for BEVs and newer vehicles with combustion engines shows similar differences.
Canadian BEVs were written off as total losses 7.24% of the time (a decrease of 3% from Q1 2024 and an increase of 44% from Q2 2023). Newer ICE vehicles, whose repairs are as complex as those of battery-electric vehicles, were totaled 8.52% of the time.
Cover image by iStock.com/ferrantraite
