Germany sees shrinking gap in electric and petrol car crash costs

[Desmond Milligan 0]

Repair costs for electric cars after accidents remain higher than for comparable petrol or diesel vehicles in Germany, but the gap is narrowing, industry data showed.

Fully comprehensive insurance claims for fully-electric vehicles currently average 15% to 20% more than for similar combustion-engine models, according to the German Insurance Association (GDV). A year ago, the difference stood at 20% to 25%.

When it comes to the frequency of claims, electric cars still have an edge - though a shrinking one. Battery-electric models generated around 10% to 15% fewer fully comprehensive claims than comparable combustion cars, down from 15% to 20% previously.

"As more electric cars take to the roads, their claims patterns are becoming increasingly similar to those of comparable combustion vehicles," GDV deputy managing director Anja Käfer-Rohrbach said. She noted that workshops, towing services, firefighters and assessors had gained more experience handling damaged electric cars.

The GDV called the trend positive for Germany's transition to cleaner transport, saying persistently higher repair costs could have hurt the public acceptance of the climate-friendly vehicles.

While accident-related repair bills for electric cars are not falling, they are rising more slowly than for combustion vehicles, narrowing the cost gap.

As of April 1, 2025, Germany had more than 1.7 million electric passenger cars on the road, over five times the number at the start of 2021, the Federal Motor Transport Authority said. They now account for 3.5% of all registered passenger cars.

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