EV repair costs continue to fall

Electric vehicle (EV) repair costs fell by 1.9% during the second quarter of 2026, continuing a downward trend as the repair sector adapts to increasing volumes of electric vehicles, according to the latest Charge Up report from Activate Group and Gecko Risk.

The report found that average parts costs fell by 3.6% year-on-year, marking the second consecutive quarterly decline, while labour costs have continued to ease since late 2024. Researchers attributed the reductions to a more mature EV repair ecosystem, improved parts availability and growing expertise among repairers. The increasing number of more affordable EVs entering the market has also contributed to lower average repair costs.

At the same time, demand for electric vehicles continued to grow, with 146,965 new registrations recorded during the quarter. Tesla recorded more than 15,000 registrations, making it the best-selling EV manufacturer during the period, while BYD remained the second highest-selling manufacturer over the past 12 months.

James Fisher, Managing Director at Gecko Risk, said: “BYD achieving the second-highest number of EV car registrations over the last 12 months is an extraordinary success story for the manufacturer.

“It has taken Chinese brands like BYD and JAECOO less than five years to reach a level of market recognition and maturity that took Korean brands like Kia around 15 years of steady growth to achieve in the UK.”

The report also highlights differences in repair costs between manufacturers. Tesla remained the most expensive of the five largest EV brands to repair, largely because of higher labour costs, while average repair costs for BYD and Ford were significantly below the market average.

Chris Aplin, Head of Network Operations & Engineering at Activate Collision Solutions, said: “Repairers are clearly becoming better equipped to deal with both electric cars and an influx of new manufacturers.

“As with all advanced driver assistance system-equipped vehicles, parts costs remain relatively high. Interestingly, new entrants to the UK market and EV specialists like Tesla and BYD appear to be keeping tighter control of their own parts supply, holding costs at a much lower level than more established brands. For insurers and fleets, this different approach is a genuine differentiator in calculating total cost of risk.”

The report found that EV accident frequency fell from 11% to 10% year-on-year, while total loss frequency remained broadly stable at around four per cent over the past three years. It concludes that, although repair costs are easing as the market matures, insurers and fleet operators will need to continue adapting to changing repair economics as EV adoption continues to grow.