EVs are in different kinds of fender-benders, claims data reveals

• Insurance claims suggest EVs are in different types of lower-speed crashes
• EVs are more likely to be rear-ended, less likely to have front-end damage
• Combustion vehicles and EVs are full-loss totaled at about the same rate

EVs are more often involved in different kinds of collisions than internal-combustion cars, data from Mitchell International show, with one-pedal driving systems potentially contributing to this.

Mitchell, which provides tech for the auto insurance and collision repair industries, has previously reported that EV collision repair costs are higher than those for gasoline vehicles. Now the company is delving into the types of fender-benders EVs tend to be involved in versus internal-combustion cars.

In a press release published Wednesday, the company said its data shows that EVs are more likely to sustain rear-end damage than internal-combustion vehicles, with those collisions accounting for 35.9% of EV collisions and 27.5% of internal-combustion vehicle collisions, respectively. Combustion cars have a higher frequency of front-end collisions, at 31.5%, compared to 25.8% for EVs.

Mitchell believes this is likely down to two main factors. One is that EVs tend to be newer, meaning they’re more likely to have the latest front-collision avoidance tech. The company also cited the “different braking dynamics” of EVs in one-pedal mode, which could cause more rapid deceleration that drivers in following cars aren’t prepared for.

While collisions involving a front-end impact are 40% costlier on average than those involving a rear-end impact, EVs still remain costlier to repair overall, according to Mitchell. The company’s data shows that in Q3, insurance claims for repairable vehicles in the U.S. averaged $5,560 for EVs, $5,229 for plug-in hybrids, $4,426 for mild hybrids, and $4,741 for non-hybrid combustion vehicles.

That continues a trend from Q2, when Mitchell found that EV collision-repair costs were 20% higher than those for other vehicles. High repair costs were also among the reasons cited by Hertz for slowing its EV plans.

The latest report from Mitchell did provide a hint about why this may be the case. While about the same percentage of parts are repaired, BEV vs ICE, BEV repairs require 90% original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts, while ICE models require 64% OEM parts. The rest come from the aftermarket, likely at a lower cost than OEM parts.

EVs and combustion vehicles are written off as a total loss at about the same rate—9.9% of all claims. The average market value of EVs declared a total loss is $32,718, fairly close to the $31,070 average for 2021-or-newer combustion vehicles, which Mitchell judged to be most similar to EVs in complexity and cost to repair.

High EV repair costs are well-documented, but we’re now also seeing hints that the different driving dynamics of EVs may play a role in the frequency of collisions. In addition to Mitchell’s citing of one-pedal driving as a factor in rear-end collisions, a report published last month found that EV drivers are more likely to be at fault in crashes, and noted that drivers’ behavior changed when switching to an EV.