Credit: Canva Electric cars above 120,000 miles failed Britain’s MOT roadworthiness test 32% less often than petrol and diesel equivalents, in a study of 47.4 million inspections by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association. The advantage reverses at low mileage, and the test does not examine the battery at all. Electric cars above 120,000 miles fail Britain’s MOT test 32% less often than petrol and diesel equivalents, according to a study by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, reported by Auto Express. They failed 16% of the time against 23.5%.
The dataset is the point. The association examined 47.4 million MOT tests from 2024 to 2026 against 863 million historical records, InsideEVs reported. At three to eight years old and 90,000 to 120,000 miles, electric cars failed 16.5% of tests and combustion cars 22.1%. At 15 years, 94.6% of electric cars returned for a test against 88.1% of petrol ones.
The advantage is absent at low mileage. Between 20,000 and 40,000 miles electric cars failed marginally more often, 12% against 11.7%. The lines cross somewhere above that, and the gap then widens with every band. Electric cars also cover more ground, a median 27,072 miles a year against 20,499.
The failures are not the same failures. Electric cars are 1.8 times more likely to carry a tyre wear defect, which follows from the weight. Brake defects fall by 66% beyond 90,000 miles, because regenerative braking leaves the friction brakes largely unused. The MOT does not examine the battery.
Europe is about to. Euro 7 takes effect on 29 November and requires a battery to retain 80% of capacity after five years or 100,000 km, and 72% after eight years or 160,000 km. That is a duty on the manufacturer at type approval, not a test the owner sits every year. Roadworthiness rules went the other way.
The Commission proposed in April last year to inspect cars over ten years old annually instead of every two years. Transport ministers rejected that in December and kept the existing frequency. Independent fleet data already puts degradation at about 2% a year. The best European evidence comes from outside the union.
Britain has run one national MOT database for decades, which is why a trade body can pull 863 million records out of it. Periodic testing across the EU is harmonised by directive, and the records stay with member states. The association that published this leases cars for a living.
