Toronto, Ontario — In the average electric vehicle (EV) repair, almost half of the total repair cost is devoted to labour, compared to the average internal combustion engine (ICE) repair, according to Mitchell International’s most recent Plugged In: Collision Insights report.
In Mitchell’s Q3 2023 data, EV repairs trended heavier in terms of labour, with 49.66 percent of repair cost devoted to labour. In ICE repairs, approximately 41 percent of the repair cost was devoted to labour in Q3 2023.
All in all, Canadian EV claims frequency rose a modest half-a-percent in Q3 2023.
One of the biggest points noted in Mitchell’s report is the fact that EVs are not written off at a higher rate than their ICE counterparts. In Q3 2023, EV total loss rates sat at 7.25 percent, while luxury ICE vehicle total loss rates (which sit at a comparable price point to EVs) were 7.47 percent.
Mitchell says the total loss rate for all ICE vehicles is 8.49 percent, according to Q3 data.
“One common misperception about EVs is that insurers write them off as a total loss more frequently. This data obviously contradicts [that] notion.”
— Ryan Mandell, Mitchell International
Mitchell’s Q3 data also says that only 13.43 percent of parts were repaired on EV repairs this past quarter, compared to 16.39 percent of parts on ICE vehicles.
“A large part of this comes from bumpers, I’m sure,” Ryan Mandell of Mitchell International and author of the report, told Collision Repair mag at SEMA last week.
“As for parts repaired, I believe it’s mostly skins, panels, et cetera.”
Further, EV repairs utilized 88.85 percent OEM parts in Q3 2023, according to Mitchell data, compared to 67.48 percent OEM parts in ICE repairs.
Q3 repair costs for EV continued to trend higher than ICE repair costs, says Mitchell, with an average cost differential of $1,301 per repair in Canada.
When Teslas are removed from the mix, the repair cost differential between EVs and ICE vehicles is $750, writes Mitchell.
Mitchell also noted that the Chevy Bolt replaced the Tesla Model S in spot five in the top five EV models, by frequency in Canadian regions. In fact, Tesla saw its ZEV registration numbers decline across the boar in Ontario, B.C. and Quebec as new models hit the scene.
“It will be interesting to see if those models change [in conjunction] with Tesla’s price cuts,” said Mandell, referencing Tesla’s widespread price cuts through 2023, which extend to the Canadian market on several models.
For more information on Mitchell’s Q3 Plugged In: Collision Insights report, which also includes U.S. data, visit the Mitchell website at www.mitchell.com
