Times are hard for households in the UK, with prices going up in supermarkets and at the fuel pump. As such, many are looking for savings wherever they can. Recent leaked proposals regarding the changing of MOT checks to bi-annual have put MOTs and their associated costs in the minds of the driving community, raising additional questions as new vehicles hit UK roads. As more electric vehicles are made available to consumers, many are asking the question: are they exempt from MOT checks?

Electric Vehicles Still Eligible

Confusion over the eligibility of electric vehicles for MOT checks is understandable; EVs utilise fundamentally different engineering principles to achieve torque, being entirely without an internal combustion engine. However, if you have an EV, you will still need to book your MOT online this year; electric vehicles are legally required to be checked via MOT each year, just as petrol- or diesel-powered vehicles are.

The reason electric vehicles are not exempt from MOT checks is their road legality. They perform the same function and command the same road presence as other vehicles, and their suitability for road travel must be ascertained on a regular basis in order to keep the roads safe. Despite their differences, gas-guzzlers and EVs have a lot in common – and even the things that distinguish them must be evaluated for safety.

Overall Savings from Running an EV

However, MOT exemption should not be a deal-breaker for anyone looking to cut costs with a new vehicle. The cost of an MOT for a class 4 vehicle is currently £54.85, but the running costs of an EV compared to a conventional combustion-engine-ed vehicle would already see you saving significantly more than that.

Firstly, EVs are in general cheaper to run owing to the cost relating to their fuel source. Fossil fuels are continuing to cost households more and more as prices increase, while electricity comes out much cheaper per mile. Various studies and comparison have been made using industry figures, with many coming to the conclusion that fuelling an EV is roughly half the price of fuelling a petrol or diesel vehicle.

With specific regard to MOTs and maintenance, electric vehicles are thought to be much cheaper to maintain in the long run. This is because they have fewer moving parts than vehicles with internal combustion engines, meaning fewer potential points of wear and failure.

How Reliable are EVs?

That last point is a vital one for overarching questions about the reliability of electric vehicles. For many, EVs are an unknown quantity; their recent development and relative scarcity on UK roads is a point of contention for drivers on the fence about making the switch. But as more data is collected, it is starting to become apparent that experimental results correlate with theoretical ones – and that EVs are a more reliable mode of travel on balance. For MOTs, this means fewer surprise service costs. Overall, it means more money in the pockets of the EV-driving household.