A NEW STUDY INTO ELECTRIC VEHICLES HAS FOUND THEY BREAK DOWN FAR LESS OFTEN THAN GAS-POWERED CARS.
BUT, DIFFERENT RECENTLY RELEASED DATA FROM A SEPARATE ORGANIZATION IS CLAIMING EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE.
RESEARCH BY THE GERMAN AUTOMOBILE CLUB INDICATES EVS MANUFACTURED IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS HAVE SHOWN SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER BREAKDOWN RATES THAN THEIR GAS AND DIESEL COUNTERPARTS.
THEIR STATISTICS SHOW EVS BUILT BETWEEN 2020 AND 2022 HAD AN AVERAGE BREAKDOWN RATE OF 4.2 PER 1,000 VEHICLES-
LESS THAN HALF THE 10.4 PER 1,000 RATE OBSERVED AMONG COMBUSTION ENGINE CARS.
HOWEVER, THE UK’S AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION HAS CAUTIONED AGAINST ASSUMING ELECTRIC VEHICLES ARE MORE RELIABLE.
THEY SAY EVS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCE A SLIGHTLY HIGHER RATE OF BREAKDOWNS, POINTING TO CHALLENGES UNIQUE TO ELECTRIC MODELS—SUCH AS JAMMED CHARGING CABLES AND TECHNICAL GLITCHES.
ALTHOUGH, THE AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION’S FINDINGS DID ALSO CLAIM THAT MOST EV ISSUES ARE FIXABLE ON THE ROADSIDE-
WITH 90% OF BREAKDOWNS BEING RESOLVED WITHOUT A TOW—COMPARED TO 86% FOR GAS AND DIESEL VEHICLES.
IN TRYING TO RESOLVE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE TWO CONFLICTING DATA SETS-
IT IS IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT WHAT INTERESTS THE PROVIDERS OF THIS INFORMATION MAY BE TRYING TO PROMOTE.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE GERMAN AUTOMOBILE CLUB’S PRO-ELECTRIC VEHICLE REPORT COMES AS THE ORGANIZATION OPERATES A NETWORK OF EV CHARGERS ACROSS GERMANY-
AND HAS PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO INITIATIVES THAT PROMOTE ELECTRIC MOBILITY.
MEANWHILE, ONE OF THE AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION’S OWNERS, CVC CAPITAL PARTNERS, HAS INVESTED BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN MULTIPLE OIL AND GAS COMPANIES AROUND THE WORLD.
FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M JACK AYLMER.
