High-mileage electric cars are more reliable than petrol ones, study finds

Electric cars with 80,000 or 100,000 miles on the clock should not automatically be seen as worn out, the BVRLA chief said. Photograph: Miles Willis/Getty Images

Motorists buying a secondhand car with a lot of miles on the clock are likely to find an electric vehicle (EV) ultimately more reliable than a petrol vehicle, according to a study.

An analysis of 47.4m MOT tests found that after cars were driven 90,000 to 120,000 miles, EVs were about 25% less likely to fail than petrol models of the same age (based on a failure rate of 16.5% versus 22.1%).