Electric vehicle sales in the UK continue to climb, with the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showing EVs made up almost one in every three new cars sold in June. But insurance remains one of the biggest sticking points putting some buyers off — and new crash testing is shedding light on exactly why.
At a Thatcham Research safety testing facility near Newbury, engineers recently carried out a low-speed 6mph crash test on a Dacia Spring, replicating the kind of minor knock a car might pick up in a car park or at a set of lights. On the surface, the damage looked minimal. Underneath, it was a different story: the high-voltage charging port and the components attached to it were badly broken, with the repair bill for that damage alone estimated at around £4,000 — enough that many insurers simply wouldn’t bother fixing it.
According to Thatcham, EVs cost around 30% more to repair than petrol or diesel equivalents on average, and take about 14% longer to fix. That feeds directly into premiums, which can run 10-25% higher for an EV than a comparable petrol or diesel car, depending on the make and model.
Thatcham’s Dan Harrowell explained that a lot of the problem comes down to how EVs are designed. To save weight, many components are glued together rather than fixed with bolts or fasteners, which is great for efficiency but means whole systems often need replacing rather than individual parts. Battery packs are a particular issue: even minor damage to the casing can mean writing off the whole assembly, given the battery can account for around 40% of a car’s total value.
Stuart Masson, editor of The Car Expert, pointed to a knock-on effect too — a shortage of parts and qualified technicians means cars spend longer in the workshop, driving up both courtesy car costs and, ultimately, premiums for everyone.
There are signs of progress, though. Thatcham has drawn up a blueprint for manufacturers aimed at making EVs easier and cheaper to repair, from relocating vulnerable components like charging ports to redesigning battery casings so damaged sections can be replaced rather than discarded. Renault, which owns Dacia, says it’s already looking at ways to make battery pack repairs more technically feasible. Encouragingly, the most recent EV models now have average repair costs just 18% higher than their petrol equivalents — a marked improvement that should, over time, help bring insurance premiums down too.
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