More EVs on the Road Means More Accidents
Continuous growth in the sales of electric cars means that there are more EVs than ever on our roads – and it also means that the number of electric cars involved in accidents is growing, too. Indeed, according to Mitchell, a technology and information provider that serves the property and casualty and collision repair industries, the number of insurance claims for repairable, collision-damaged EVs has grown by 45 percent in the U.S., and 39 percent in Canada in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. In fact, the rate of growth of EV collisions is outpacing their sales growth, which has cooled off slightly in 2024, despite continuing to hit record numbers.
How Much Does It Cost to Fix an EV?
In the first half of 2024, Mitchell reported that the average claim severity – basically, the cost to repair – of an EV involved in a collision was $5,753 in the U.S., and $6,534 in Canada. That compares to the average repair cost of $4,806 in the U.S. and $4,958 in Canada for a gasoline vehicle. EVs are about 20 percent more expensive to repair in the U.S. and about 30 percent more expensive to repair in Canada – which means that insurance premiums for EVs will be higher.
While a 20 percent higher repair cost is significant, it’s not as significant a premium as during the early days of electric cars, where damage to a large EV battery would typically require a replacement – often with a five-figure bill. EV-certified collision centers, service departments of dealerships, and manufacturers themselves, now have procedures in place to safely repair EV batteries – reducing the cost of repairs, and also reducing environmental impact. Now, EV batteries can be repaired by replacing a few pouches or cells instead of having to be replaced completely.
Tesla Collision Repair
Not surprisingly, given their dominance in electric vehicle sales, Teslas were four of the five most commonly repaired EVs on Mitchell’s list.
· The Model 3 alone accounted for almost a third of total claims in the U.S., at 31.92 percent
· 26.52 percent of EV accident claims were for the Tesla Model Y
· 7.09 percent of claims were for the Ford Mustang Mach-E
· 6.39 percent of claims were for the Tesla Model S
· 4.72 percent of claims were for the Tesla Model X
In Canada, the Tesla Model 3 (35.28 percent) and Model Y (25.60 percent) topped the list as well, followed by the Hyundai Kona EV (4.66 percent), Chevy Bolt (4.61 percent), and Nissan Leaf (4.41 percent).
Do EVs Get Written Off More Often?
Because battery replacement costs were initially so high, and the batteries could only be repaired and not replaced, EVs used to get written off more frequently than gasoline vehicles. As batteries can now be repaired, and manufacturers get more sophisticated with repair procedures, the rate of write-offs has dropped significantly. In fact, a lower percentage of electric cars, 9.16 percent, compared to gasoline cars, at 9.45 percent, are now deemed a total loss.
Both percentages are higher than in previous years because of the increasing complexity of the technology in all modern vehicles – gasoline or electric. Sensors and cameras require hours and hours of recalibration in addition to needing repair or replacement, and more expensive lightweight materials are being used in all vehicles to improve efficiency.
One other potential reason that EVs are actually written off less is that fewer of them need structural repairs. In fact, only 5.21 percent of EVs needed frame repairs after a collision, versus 8.18 percent of gas-powered vehicles. On the other hand, EVs did require more hours of labor to repair than their internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered equivalents.
Do Hybrid Cars Cost More to Insure?
While the growth of EV sales has slowed down compared to previous years, hybrid sales are going gangbusters. In the first half of 2024, sales of plug-in hybrids in the U.S. were up almost 70 percent compared to 2023 (and 75 percent in Canada), and regular hybrids are selling in record numbers, too. Interestingly, plug-in hybrids represented less than 1 percent of vehicles needing repair, significantly outnumbered by EVs, which were about 2.5 percent of vehicles needing repair in the U.S., and almost 4 percent in Canada.
In terms of repair costs, regular hybrid vehicles, sometimes known as mild hybrids, were pretty comparable to conventional gasoline cars, with claims having a 2 percent higher severity in the first half of 2024 (though in Canada, that number was 7 percent higher). Plug-in hybrids were more costly to repair, with average claims severity of 12.5 percent higher in the U.S., and 13.7 percent higher in Canada. They combine elements of both internal combustion and electric vehicles, with more expensive compoents and complex procedures required.
Conclusion: EV Collision Claims
As electric, and electrified, vehicles become more mainstream – and collision repair centers gain more experience with repairing them – repair costs are normalizing, and the number of vehicles being written off is normalizing as well. In fact, simple, robust EVs are now being written off less than gasoline vehicles.
While electric cars will continue to cost more to insure for a little while longer, the latest data points to the fact that over time, insurance premiums should normalize as well.
