Is servicing and maintenance cheaper on an electric car?

In the vast majority of cases, an electric car will be cheaper to maintain than a petrol or diesel car. Indeed, a study by Compare the Market found that the annual cost of running an electric vehicle is now £528 cheaper on average than a petrol car.

This difference is mainly due to lower ‘fuel’ costs and no road tax (VED) charges. However, the lower cost of maintenance for an EV is also a factor.

This is partly because an electric car has fewer moving parts, while a conventional car is powered by a complex engine and transmission that requires regular servicing. Just consider some of the components an electric car doesn’t have: clutch, fuel pump, drive belt, spark plugs, etc.

Less to go wrong means less to maintain – and less impact on your wallet. And that’s before you factor in the absence of oil and fuel filters.

Can an electric car save you money?

A service plan on a BMW iX3 costs £14.99 a month, which, after 36 months, gives a total of £539.64. Compare this with the plan on a BMW X3, which costs £25.99 a month – £935.64 after 36 months. In other words, a saving of around £400 after three years of driving.

There’s more good news if we use a 2022 Kia e-Niro 3 electric car as an example. Based on a vehicle with 22,000 miles on the clock, a service plan based on two scheduled services (30,000 miles/36 months and 40,000 miles/48 months), the cost would be £409 – or around £45 a month. On a Niro hybrid of similar age and mileage, the price rockets to £729 or £81 a month.

You don’t have to sign up for a fixed price service plan to save money, either. Say you own a 2023 Hyundai Ioniq Electric with 10,000 miles on the clock. The next serviced schedule (20,000 miles) will cost £177.78 and the 30,000 miles service will cost £77.57. For an Ioniq hybrid, these prices increase to £307.57 and £190.45, respectively.

All the above prices are correct at the time of writing (June 2024).

What needs servicing on an EV?

Although the service intervals might be longer, it’s important to stick to the manufacturer’s recommended schedule. This is especially important when the car reaches its third birthday, at which point it will require its first MOT.

Some maintenance work will be familiar to owners of petrol and diesel cars. For example, an electric car service will include checks and/or maintenance of the tyres, steering and suspension components, plus the likes of the climate control system, windscreen wipers and washer fluid. The brake fluid and coolant will also need checking and, if necessary, to be topped up or replaced.

You could discover that you’ll need to change the tyres more regularly on an electric car. The extra weight of the vehicle will increase the rate of wear. Accurate wheel alignment is essential to prevent premature tyre wear, too.

In the main, it’s all positive news for electric cars. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that, for now at least, electric cars are more expensive to buy, which might offset the maintenance savings.

It’s also worth mentioning that electric cars aren’t immune from problems. Autotech Training, a company specialising in all forms of automotive industry skills, has outlined some of the potential issues with EVs. These include battery failure, charging errors, transmission problems, and software or electronic malfunction.

The key is to approach buying a used electric vehicle in the same way you would a standard petrol or diesel car. Do your homework, check the details of the manufacturer or aftermarket warranty, and make sure you get the car serviced at the recommended intervals. A fixed price service plan might be a sensible investment as well, to help manage your car maintenance costs.