- EV owners face high insurance and repair costs over fears they could explode
- Government say damaged cars must be ‘quarantined’ 15m from other cars
Electric car owners face soaring insurance and repair costs over fears the vehicles could explode after being in even minor collisions.
Damaged EVs must be ‘quarantined’ 15 metres apart from other cars in repair shops due to the risk of battery fires under government guidelines – driving up the price for mechanics and insurers.
A lack of suitable repair shops and EV trained mechanics risks increasing costs to the insurance industry by more than £600million, which could be passed on to drivers.
As more battery-powered vehicles take to the road insurers will need to spend an additional £900million per year, adding £20 per year to all car insurance premiums, according to a report by automotive risk firm Thatcham Research.
This is likely to rise to £28 by 2050 when there will be an expected 360,000 EVs on the roads, the report revealed. The batteries in electric vehicles can be extremely sensitive and what might be a harmless blow to a petrol car can write-off an EV. There are also risks when they catch fire as they can burn for days.
The Daily Mail has launched a campaign calling on ministers to rethink the 2030 ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars, which is designed to turbocharge the switch to EVs and aid efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
The report found last year 9,400 EVs were potentially involved in crashes resulting in batteries needing repair, but this could rise to 260,000 by 2035. It said insurers and mechanics need to rapidly adapt to EVs to avoid the risk that the cars are only available to the rich.
- Wealthy male drivers dominate electric car ownership, with women accounting for just one in ten owners, a survey in the UK and EU by EV charging app Bonnet found. The 35-44 age bracket had the highest proportion of EVs at 35 per cent.
