Apparently, Tesla EVs cost 27 percent more to fix compared to other EVs
As the global market shifts to electric vehicles (EVs) in favour of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, Repair costs especially in the event of a crash can be concerning. Repairing potential collision damage can scare away some buyers but a new study might ease some concerns, well, except for Tesla owners, that is.
Almost all new cars today feature an abundance of advanced technology and that tech, made up of components like lidar sensors, radar sensors, and cameras is often contained in major body panels. With EVs, one also has to factor in having battery packs and electric motors that can easily run up a repair bill.
Moreover, a number of reports seem to indicate that repairing an EV will cost significantly more than the average petrol car. However, a repair shop software company’s data indicates that repair costs are nearly identical between petrol cars and EVs so long as you don’t have a Tesla. Why? Let’s see.
So, Autonews reviewed statistics from Mitchell, the software company in question, and found a number of interesting details, chief among them being the average repair cost of an ICE car across all of Mitchell’s customers was USD4,205 (about RM20,102).
On top of that, this number is only USD269 (approximately RM1,286) less than that of a non-Tesla EV would cost. This translates to, on average, USD4,474 (around RM21,388). That’s a difference of just six percent. In essence, it really does not cost that much more to repair an EV compared to an ICE car.
Interestingly, this is not the case with Tesla EVs, which, for some odd reason, are in for a larger repair bill statistically. The same data indicates that they pay, on average, USD5,552 (about RM26,541) or about 27 percent more. Data shows that it is the technology associated with these vehicles that cause repair prices to be so high.
Ryan Mandell, director of claims performance for auto physical damage at Mitchell, said, “These vehicles are on the cutting edge of all this safety technology and this digital connected-car technology and all of that is going to play a role when these vehicles are involved in a collision.”
Naturally, many other factors might be affecting the cost of repairs where EVs are concerned. Obviously, being newer, this means that aftermarket options aren’t as plentiful, thus driving up the cost. So will this also be the case in Malaysia and if so are Tesla owners essentially shooting themselves in the foot here?
We got all this from Carscoops and their full article is linked here. Thank you Carscoops for the information and images.
