The data shows ‘out of charge’ EV breakdowns, calculated as a percentage of all EV breakdowns, are at a record low in 2024 of just 1.85%. The rolling 12-month figure for 2023 was 2.26% .
In 2015 the proportion of ‘out of charge’ EVs stood at 8.26% and has been on a downward trend apart from slight blips in 2017 and 2019.
New battery technology, better range, improved charging performance and reliability, charge post support and better driver and dealer knowledge have all helped reduce such breakdowns.
The UK trajectory for EV breakdowns from the AA data also remains very similar to the AA’s equivalent, NAF in Norway, which has the highest penetration of EVs in Europe.
The AA said it expects the figure to drop to 1%, which is roughly the proportion of ICE cars running out of petrol or diesel.
The AA deals with approximately 8,000 breakdowns each day across all vehicle categories but only deals with five or six out-of-charge vehicles per day. Often the vehicles are not actually ‘out of charge’ but are low on charge, or not able to charge due to technical problems, leaving the driver worried about getting to the next charger.
The AA has also found the top 30% of breakdown faults for EVs are almost identical to petrol and diesel cars, which tend to be tyres, wheels and the 12V battery.