- The study found that EV drivers cause more accidents than gas and diesel vehicles
- EVs are more expensive to maintain and repair than gas and diesel vehicles
- Data shows that EVs are still driven less on average than gas or diesel vehicles
EV drivers in Europe are very likely you were at fault in the accident than drivers of petrol and diesel cars, according to a new study.
First seen by the Green Car Congress, the study was carried out by Irish research organization Lero and the University of Limerick. It used telematics data from the journeys of 125 million commercial fleet vehicles and 14,642 cars in the Netherlands from January 2022 to October 2022. The journey data was compared with insurance claim data from the same period.
Citroen Ë-Spacetourer
Based on those data sets, the researchers found a 4% higher incidence of at-fault insurance claims for EV drivers compared to drivers of internal combustion vehicles. That's despite EVs showing lower average mileage than gasoline or diesel vehicles, the researchers noted.
Researchers have found that too the behavior of drivers has changed when switching to EV, which may affect the number of incidents. There really is a learning curve for EVs, US insurance data from LexisNexis showed, both in single-pedal driving modes and high torque that can make EVs more prone to accidents. Data released by the company in June also showed a 17% higher request frequency and a 34% higher request intensity.
Citroen ë-C4
EVs are like that too 6.7% more expensive to fix there are cars burning inside, the study found. That's also consistent with the results of a US A report published earlier this year by Mitchell International, which provides technology to the insurance and collision repair industries, and found that EV collision repairs cost 20% more than similar repairs for gasoline vehicles.
Much of what is involved in repairing even minor EV collisions is part of the high cost, US insurance data shows, while an EV's high weight can cause significant damage to other vehicles and increase claims rates in cases where the EV driver is at fault. That, and the high cost of replacing the battery, he said EVs cost more to insure but we still raise the issue of profit to the insurance companies.