Study Finds That the Lifespan of EVs in the UK Equals That of ICE Vehicles

A recent analysis of data from the United Kingdom (UK) Ministry of Transport (MOT) has revealed that electric vehicles in the UK have a similar lifespan to internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. The international research team discovered this similarity after studying 300m MOT records to determine failure rates for petrol and diesel cars as well as new energy cars like battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

Published last week in the journal Nature Energy, the peer-reviewed study indicated that electric vehicle reliability has improved rapidly enough for electric cars in the UK to last just as long as their diesel and petrol-powered counterparts. According to the research team, the average lifespan of electric vehicles is 18.4 years, compared to 16.8 years for diesel cars and 18.7 years for petrol vehicles.

The international research team comprised scientists from the University of Bern in Switzerland, the London School of Economics, the University of Birmingham, and the University of California San Diego. Their findings validated automotive engineers who long believed that electric vehicle reliability would ultimately surpass ICE vehicle reliability as EVs typically contain notably fewer moving parts than fossil fuel-powered cars.

However, with the electric vehicle industry still in its infancy, most of the industry’s first-generation EVs are just now reaching the end of their lifespans, severely limiting the data researchers have to work with. The research team solved the lack of data issue by using vehicle roadworthiness test data that the MOT collects during its compulsory annual tests.

Excluding scrappage in the first couple of years as it is likely a result of accidents, they used the data to determine vehicle failure rates for all kinds of cars. Teslas had the most extended lifespan among battery-powered electric vehicles, perhaps a testament to the fact that the Texas-based EV maker has spent well over a decade and a half working on battery electric cars.

Longer lifespans for electric cars help benefit the environment as the energy they use over the years will be more and more emissions-free due to the addition of new solar and wind energy capacity, eventually making the EVs completely carbon-free. Petrol and diesel cars, on the other hand, produce tailpipe emissions in perpetuity and may even generate more emissions in their old age as their engine parts start to malfunction and they lose efficiency.

The researchers also note that new electric vehicles tend to have higher reliability over older models thanks to improvements in technology. Automakers are continually learning from their earlier models and making improvements every year, meaning electric cars could become even more efficient with longer lifespans as EV technology keeps improving.

Battery technology is especially noteworthy given the unprecedented innovations in this space. Companies like QuantumScape Corp. (NYSE: QS) are on the brink of commercializing solid-state batteries that promise to take EVs to a whole new level of performance and durability.

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