The conventional wisdom goes something like this: high mileage on an electric car is a red flag, a reason to scroll past the listing and find something safer. A study of 47.4 million UK MOT tests suggests that assumption may be costing used-car buyers real money.
Transport consultancy New AutoMotive, commissioned by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), analyzed official roadworthiness records comparing EVs and petrol cars across equivalent ages and mileage bands. Many used EVs now entering the secondhand market have previously served in corporate or leasing fleets, accumulating substantial mileage before resale.
What the Numbers Show
At high mileage, EVs pass roadworthiness checks at meaningfully better rates than petrol equivalents.
Among vehicles aged three to eight years with 90,000 to 120,000 miles on the clock, 16.5% of EVs failed their MOT compared with 22.1% of petrol cars. That is roughly a 25% lower relative failure rate, or a 5.6 percentage-point absolute difference.
Above 120,000 miles, the gap holds: 16.0% of EVs failed versus 23.5% of petrol cars. At lower mileages, between 20,000 and 40,000 miles, the difference is negligible, with EVs failing at 12.0% and petrol cars at 11.7%.
The pattern researchers identified is the key detail. EV failure rates plateau near 60,000 miles and largely stay there, while petrol failure rates continue rising as mileage accumulates.
“High mileage isn’t a proxy for poor condition in the way buyers have traditionally assumed,” said Ben Nelmes, chief executive of New AutoMotive.
Researchers suggest the result reflects the relative mechanical simplicity of electric drivetrains. Without a conventional engine, gearbox, or exhaust system to wear down, there are fewer components to generate MOT failures over time. That is an interpretation of the data, not a guarantee about every individual car.
What the MOT Doesn’t Tell You
A roadworthiness pass confirms the car is legal to drive, not that its battery is healthy.
An MOT checks brakes, tyres, lights, and structural integrity. It does not measure battery capacity, charging performance, or remaining range, and those factors matter enormously when evaluating a used EV.
The study also identified two specific weak points worth noting. EVs showed nearly twice as many tyre defects as petrol cars, a finding researchers associate with heavier kerb weight and the high torque EVs generate from a standstill. Older, low-mileage EVs showed elevated brake corrosion, because regenerative braking reduces how often conventional disc brakes engage.
Group-level statistics describe populations, not individual cars. A neglected EV with degraded battery health can still be a worse purchase than a well-maintained petrol alternative.
What Smart Buyers Should Actually Check
The MOT history is the starting point for due diligence, not the finish line.
Request an independent battery-health report covering usable capacity and any evidence of abnormal degradation. Skipping that step is how buyers end up surprised by real-world range that falls well short of the advertised figure.
Check tyre wear, tread depth, and alignment carefully, and factor replacement costs into your offer. Inspect brake discs for corrosion, particularly on lower-mileage examples that relied heavily on regenerative braking. Confirm all charging equipment functions correctly, and establish whether the battery or major electrical components remain under any manufacturer or extended warranty.
Independent battery-health certificates may become increasingly routine in used-EV transactions as more ex-fleet vehicles reach the market. For now, the mileage figure on a listing tells you less about a used EV’s condition than a thorough inspection of what actually powers it.
