EV scrappage rates far lower than feared, finds Cap HPI

Contrary to industry fears, there is no evidence that electric cars are being scrapped at a higher rate than ICE vehicles due to significantly higher repair costs, according to data experts Cap HPI.

In fact, petrol and diesel cars are being written off and scrapped by insurers at double the rate of electric vehicles (EVs),

The findings come following calls from within the automotive industry to analyse EV scrappage rates and suspicions that volumes were greater for EVs than those for petrol and diesel vehicles.

The analysis examined two comparison scenarios: pure electric vs. ICE and electric and hybrids vs. ICE.

In the pure electric vs ICE category, the data revealed that for scrapped vehicles aged one year and under, a total of 40 EVs (0.01%) were scrapped out of the 334,525 on the road compared with 701 of 2,026,146 ICE vehicles (0.03%).

At three years and under, 782 (0.09%) of 912,341 EVs were scrapped compared with 10,300 (0.18%) of 5,788,617 petrol and diesel vehicles.

Five years and under, 1,433 (0.13%) of 1,130,581 EVs were scrapped against 33,700 (0.33%) of 10,278,745 ICE vehicles.
 
In the electric and hybrid vs ICE scenario, electrics and hybrids (including electric diesel and fuel cells) aged one year and under, 203 EVs (0.02%) were scrapped of a total of 960,902 compared with 544 of 1,406,637 ICE vehicles (0.04%).

At three years and under, 2,356 (0.10%) of 2,389,352 EVs were scrapped, compared with 8,726 (0.20%) of 4,311,606 ICE vehicles.

At five years and under, 4,635 (0.15%) of 3,057,881 EVs were scrapped against 30,528 (0.37%) of 8,351,445 ICE vehicles.

Jonathan Clay, Cap HPI identification director, commented: “It’s essential that the industry has an accurate picture of emerging trends as the EV market continues to develop. With repair costs for EVs running up to 29% higher than ICE vehicles, according to a Solera study, it’s important to understand the impact on scrappage rates.”