EVs almost double tire-defect rates, UK study finds

London – Electric vehicles record around 1.8 times the rate of tire defects found in comparable internal combustion engine cars, according to a new UK study of vehicle durability.

The study, published 22 Sept by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) and automotive analyst Ben Kilbey, analysed data from 47.4 million MOT tests carried out between July 2024 and July 2026.

Looking at vehicles aged three-to-eight years, the study found higher tire defect rates for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) across all mileage bands.

At 20,000–40,000 miles, BEVs recorded 5.8 tire defects per 100 tests, compared with 3.2 for petrol and 3.4 for diesel vehicles.

At more than 90,000 miles, the figures increased to 9.4 for BEVs, 5.4 for petrol and 5.6 for diesel.

The report linked the difference primarily to the “battery mass and instant low-end torque”.

However, the analysis found that “platform design determines the ‘tire tax’”, with significantly different results between EVs converted from combustion-engine platforms and purpose-designed electric vehicles.

Among converted platforms, the Nissan e-NV200 recorded 6.99 more tire defects per 100 tests than its combustion counterpart.

Meanwhile, the VW e-Golf and Hyundai Kona recorded an excess of 4.97 and 4.17 defects, respectively.

By comparison, purpose-designed EV platforms recorded a much smaller increase, with the BMW i3 showing 1.93 additional tire defects per 100 tests, Kia Niro EV 1.47 and Hyundai Ioniq Electric 1.33.

According to the study, dedicated EV platforms “distribute battery weight evenly across bespoke suspension geometry”, “drastically moderating tire wear.”

More broadly, the study found that once vehicle age and mileage were taken into account, EV durability compared favourably with combustion vehicles.

At low mileage, failure rates were broadly similar, while beyond 60,000 miles petrol and diesel vehicles recorded higher overall MOT failure rates than BEVs.