Stick or twist: Are EVs truly built to last?
Discover why EVs are proving more durable, reliable, and cost-effective than many drivers expect.
Why EVs are here to stay
On first impression, electric vehicles seem like the future brought into the present – quiet, technologically advanced, and convenient. With fewer moving parts and the promise of lower running costs than traditional internal combustion engines, they make a strong case for change. But while their overall impression is compelling, it’s worth examining how well they hold up in everyday reality.
When it comes to lifespan, reliability and total cost of ownership, do EVs stand-up to petrol and diesel vehicles over time across years of real-world use?
To explore this, it helps to think of the decision less as a technical upgrade, and more as a mindset shift. Do you stick with what you know – proven, understood, and trusted over decades of use? Or do you twist toward something innovative and evolving, but still building its long-term track record?
Do EVs already deliver the same confidence as petrol and diesel vehicles – or are we still bridging the gap between perception and proven performance?
To better understand how these perceptions hold up in practice, we’ve explored three areas – lifespan, reliability, and total cost of ownership.
What’s the lifespan of an EV versus an internal combustion engine?
A common perception is that EV batteries degrade quickly and limit vehicle lifespan – a view often shaped by experiences with consumer technology like mobile phones, where battery performance noticeably declines after only a few years. In reality, EV batteries are engineered for significantly longer-term use, with most manufacturers now offering warranties of around eight years, while many batteries are expected to last between 10–20 years or roughly 100,000–200,000+ miles1.
Data suggests modern EVs have an average lifespan of around 18.4 years, closely matching internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles at 18.7 years2. While some early EVs lacked durability, advances in battery technology and system design have significantly improved longevity.
With fewer moving parts and reduced mechanical wear, EVs now operate with fewer traditional failure points over time. For example, there’s no engine oil to degrade, no exhaust system to corrode, and no complex gearbox to maintain – each of which is a common source of faults in conventional cars.
Overall, lifespan is no longer a clear point of difference between EVs and ICE vehicles – both demonstrating broadly comparable durability.
Reliability: Why does this comparison matter?
Reliability sits at the heart of trust in any vehicle technology. It is not just about whether a vehicle works today, but how consistently it performs over time – under real-world conditions, repeated use, and long-term ownership.
This is particularly important when comparing electric and internal combustion engine vehicles, where perceptions of maturity and dependability still vary. EVs are now being tested at scale and the evidence shows a rapidly shifting picture.
While early Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) were less reliable than internal combustion engine vehicles, rapid advances in technology have significantly closed the gap – bringing modern EVs to a comparable level of dependability, even under increasingly intensive use.
Recent international research highlights a clear shift in how EV reliability is evolving. In fact, BEVs are improving at a faster rate than their ICE counterparts. Researchers found a 12% reduction in the likelihood of failure (hazard rate) for each successive year of EV production, compared to 6.7% for petrol vehicles and just 1.9% for diesel3. This points to a technology curve that is accelerating more quickly than traditional engine development.
A key driver behind this improvement is mechanical simplicity. EVs contain significantly fewer moving parts than ICE vehicles – circa 2000 for ICE vs 20 for an EV – reducing the number of components subject to long-term wear. With fewer mechanical failure points, maintenance requirements are also reduced – contributing to improved consistency in performance over time.
Comparing the total cost of ownership
While purchase price often dominates the conversation, it rarely tells the full story of what a vehicle costs to own. For many potential EV drivers, the focus remains on upfront cost – without fully recognising how significantly running costs can shift the equation over time.
When comparing like-for-like vehicles – in this case, a petrol and EV model in the UK of a medium-sized SUV from the same manufacturer – a different picture begins to emerge over a 5-year ownership period. Lower energy costs from charging versus fuel, reduced servicing requirements, and incentives for consumers and businesses in certain markets all contribute to narrowing – and in many cases reversing – the perceived cost gap.
What is often overlooked is how these savings accumulate over time, particularly when combined with the longer operational lifespan of modern EVs. As durability and reliability continue to improve, the total cost of ownership (TCO) is more important than simply the initial purchase price of the vehicle.
The comparison demonstrates that over a 5-year period, EV ownership can deliver a lower TCO than equivalent ICE models – challenging the assumption that electric vehicles are a more expensive option4.
Naturally, this varies from country to country. EV total cost of ownership (TCO) is often lower than ICE over a full lifecycle, but it is not universal. It depends significantly on factors such as electricity prices, fuel taxes, incentives, and typical mileage patterns. For example, in the United States the gap is narrower in some states where fuel is relatively inexpensive, whereas in markets like Norway, owning an EV is significantly more affordable across most use cases.
The reality behind modern EVs
When comparing an EV to an ICE vehicle across their respective lifespan, reliability, and total cost of ownership – outdated perceptions no longer match reality.
EVs now compete with ICE vehicles in lifespan at roughly 18–19 years, with strong warranties and improving battery durability challenging the idea of short vehicle life.
Reliability is also converging, with EVs improving faster than petrol and diesel due to simpler mechanical design and fewer failure points.
On cost, although upfront prices still shape opinions, lower running and maintenance costs mean EVs can already match or beat ICE vehicles over a typical ownership period.
Overall, the market perception that EVs are still ‘catching up’ is increasingly outdated – the reality is that for many households, businesses and fleet operators, now is the right time to switch to an EV vehicle.
