Electric vehicles are gaining ground in the automotive market, but many questions remain about their everyday use. Among the advantages often cited, cheaper maintenance is a strong argument. Let’s take a closer look at the differences in maintenance costs between a diesel model and an electric vehicle.
Factors influencing maintenance costs
It’s important to note that the maintenance costs of a vehicle, whatever its engine type, are highly dependent on its use. Higher annual mileage will mean more frequent replacement of certain components and more regular visits to the workshop for servicing.
For a fair comparison, we’ll assume that the electric car and the diesel model are subject to identical annual use. Fuel costs will not be taken into account in this analysis, although electric vehicles have a clear advantage in this respect, with electricity costs up to half those of diesel.
Mechanical advantages of electric vehicles
Electric cars have a major advantage over combustion models, whether diesel or petrol: their propulsion system is considerably simpler. Composed of fewer parts, it is less prone to breakdown and requires fewer periodic replacements.
Thermal engines require regular maintenance operations, such as the oil change and air filter replacement of the intake system. These are recurring costs that electric vehicle owners can avoid.
Components missing from electric vehicles
Electric cars also do without many components which, in combustion vehicles, wear out and have to be replaced. These include:
- The spark plugswhich require frequent replacement
- The injectorsless common but potentially costly
- The timing beltwhich requires unavoidable replacement
- The gearboxabsent from electric vehicles and a potential source of numerous breakdowns and maintenance costs in combustion models
Additional benefits of electric vehicles
Another strong point of electric vehicles is the brakes. Although generally more expensive than those of a diesel due to the greater weight of the vehicle, they wear out less quickly thanks to the use of regenerative braking systems.
What’s more, electric vehicles undergo fewer tests at the roadworthiness test (notably the absence of an emissions test), which reduces the cost of this compulsory operation compared with a diesel vehicle.
Estimated annual maintenance costs
It’s difficult to give precise figures, as annual maintenance costs vary according to many factors, even with identical use. In particular, they depend on the type of vehicle (size, performance, etc.).
Nevertheless, it can be estimated that maintenance of a diesel (or petrol) car represents on average between 250 and 350 euros per year. In comparison, the maintenance of an electric vehicle can be up to 50 to 60% cheaper, at around 150 euros per year.
This significant difference can be explained by the mechanical simplicity of electric vehicles, which require fewer interventions and parts replacements. Combined with fuel savings, this reduction in maintenance costs reinforces the long-term economic appeal of electric vehicles.
Automakers continue to innovate to improve the reliability and reduce the maintenance costs of electric vehicles. As technology advances and production volumes increase, we can expect the maintenance cost gap between electric and diesel vehicles to widen further, reinforcing the advantage of zero-emission models.
