After a thorough examination of millions of MOT records, researchers from institutions such as the University of Birmingham, the London School of Economics, the University of California San Diego, and the University of Bern found:
- Average Lifespan:
- Electric Cars: 18.4 years
- Petrol Cars: 18.7 years
- Diesel Cars: 16.8 years
- Top Performer: Among EVs, Teslas demonstrated the longest lifespan.
While the age difference between electric and petrol cars is minimal, several factors influence these findings:
- Daily Mileage:
- Diesel Cars: 28.8 miles
- Petrol Cars: 18.2 miles
- Electric Cars: 18.9 miles
Interestingly, diesel vehicles, despite covering more miles daily, show a reduced longevity by about a year.
- The study did not consider scrapped cars or 371,300 plug-in hybrids due to their hybrid nature.
- Older hybrids, however, were included in the analysis.
The study also revealed improvements in the durability of electric cars over time:
- Decrease in Hazard Ratio: Newer electric vehicles have shown a significant decrease in the 'hazard ratio', indicating better reliability.
- Average Car Age: Across all powertrains, the average age increased to 17.8 years, up from 13.9 years in 2015, suggesting that cars generally last longer now.
Electric cars, it seems, hold their own against traditional petrol vehicles in terms of lifespan and reliability. As technology advances, we can expect even greater durability from our future EVs. These findings highlight a growing trend of extended vehicle longevity, regardless of the powertrain choice.
