“Electric cars always cost more to maintain than combustion cars”

What the comparative evidence shows

The absolute claim is contradicted by a substantial US comparison. AAA's 2024 study ranked the electric category lowest for maintenance, repair and tire expenses. Its estimates cover five years and 120,700.8 km and include scheduled service, wear repairs, a comprehensive extended warranty and one replacement set of tires. The same fact sheet ranked EVs highest for depreciation, demonstrating how a vehicle can be inexpensive to service while remaining costly to own overall. ^[1]

Lower service needs still leave real maintenance

A useful check is the manufacturer's schedule. Ford's model-year 2024 Mustang Mach-E manual specifies tire rotation and inspections at intervals no longer than a year or 16,093.4 km. Its listed work includes brakes, cooling, steering and suspension; brake fluid is changed every three years and the cabin filter every 32,186.9 km. An EV therefore remains a machine with wear items and safety-critical service needs. The schedule also helps distinguish required work from a dealer's optional package. ^[3]

NREL's 2024 transportation baseline provides a separate perspective: its starting maintenance and repair inputs are six cents per mile for battery electric vehicles and ten cents for combustion vehicles, with costs increasing by age under the model. These inputs come from earlier research. They are useful for understanding how cost projections are constructed, but should not be described as a new observation of all vehicles during 2024. ^[2]

Why some owners still receive large bills

A maintenance average is neither a maximum repair bill nor a warranty. A particular owner can face a costly fault even when average servicing is favorable. The relevant comparison must account for the same vehicle age, mileage, warranty coverage and repair category. One bill for a failed component cannot establish that all electric cars cost more, just as one trouble-free EV cannot establish that expensive faults never happen.

Collision repair is a separate cost category from scheduled service. Mitchell's Q2 2026 U.S. data put average repairable-claim severity at $5,684 for BEVs and $4,955 for ICE vehicles, a $729 difference and the narrowest gap Mitchell had recorded. That is an average for repairable collision claims across model years, not a routine-service bill or a prediction of an individual owner's premium. ^[4]

Keep routine maintenance, mechanical repair, collision repair, insurance, depreciation and financing visible as separate entries. Combining them into an undefined 'maintenance' figure changes the question being answered. Before buying, obtain the model's schedule and local service prices, check its warranty and available repair shops, and compare tire costs with a combustion vehicle of similar size and performance. The evidence supports lower average maintenance under specified assumptions; it leaves room for substantial differences between individual models and owners.