New data from BookMyGarage.com has found that electric vehicle servicing is significantly cheaper than that of petrol or diesel models.
The evolution of the UK new-car market is continuing, with electric vehicles taking second place in the fuel-type market share last year, and continuing that trend into 2023. While still a relatively small share of the UK car parc, their numbers are growing, and garages need to be aware of the technology and the challenges it poses.
On average, electric vehicle servicing costs £103, making them at least a third less expensive to service compared to petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles. According to the price comparison site’s data, diesel cars are the most expensive to service, costing £163 on average, with hybrid vehicles ranking second (£159), followed by petrol engine cars (£151).
Furthermore, overall average maintenance bills (including MOT tests, servicing and repairs) cost up to 43% less for EVs compared to other fuel types.
Electric vehicle servicing helps reduce TCO
Electric vehicles still cost much more than their ICE counterparts. For example, the base model MG ZS costs around £18,000 from new, while the base MG ZS EV is around £30,000. However, owners will benefit from these significantly lower maintenance costs, which will reduce their total cost of ownership (TCO) closer to petrol and diesel models.
A key reason for lower electric vehicle servicing costs is that there are fewer moving parts and therefore less work is required during a typical service compared to ICE vehicles.
“The nature of EV powertrains not requiring engine oil changes, fuel filters, air filters or spark plugs means that electric vehicle servicing requires less labour and fewer replacement parts and fluids, helping to lower costs for motorists,” commented Jessica Potts, Head of Marketing at BookMyGarage.com.
“That said, servicing is still essential for EVs from a safety perspective, so the throughput of vehicles in workshops and the business opportunity for garages should remain similar to ICE vehicles – much of the cost saving is from fewer replacement parts rather than a reduction in labour.”
There are currently far fewer EV-qualified garages available to motorists. This will need to change in the coming years as EV ownership continues to grow – it represented 16.6% of new car sales in 2022 according to the latest SMMT data. Garages that adapt to growing demand for electric vehicles will benefit from first mover advantage by positioning themselves as the go-to EV experts in their local area.
“As ICE vehicle drivers begin to move over to EVs in the coming years, and the infrastructure of the UK for electric vehicles on the road continues to improve, opportunities for EV-qualified garages will grow rapidly. Garages that are not qualified to conduct electric vehicle servicing will miss out on vital business and be faced with a shrinking market,” Potts continued.
