Emerging data on electric vehicles (EVs) challenges common perceptions regarding their maintenance costs and service experiences. While many consumers believe EVs are more expensive to upkeep than traditional gasoline-powered cars, recent findings from CDK Global suggest a nuanced reality. The study reveals that a significant portion of EV owners report lower maintenance expenses compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. However, this financial advantage is tempered by a crucial drawback: EVs frequently necessitate dealership visits for repairs and maintenance, often resulting in prolonged service times and, in some cases, multiple appointments to resolve issues. This disparity between perceived cost and actual service inconvenience highlights a developing challenge for the rapidly expanding EV market and the automotive service industry adapting to new technologies.

The automotive landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, with electric vehicle adoption steadily increasing. Despite a slight dip in sales during the second quarter of 2025, over 607,089 new EVs were sold in the first half of the year, representing a 1.5% year-over-year increase, according to data from Cox Automotive and Kelley Blue Book. This continued influx of electric cars means a growing demand for specialized service and repair. Interestingly, a survey conducted by CDK Global as part of their EV Ownership Study found that a majority of EV prospective buyers mistakenly believe that electric vehicles are inherently more costly to maintain than their gasoline counterparts.

Dispelling this myth, the CDK Global study presented a surprising statistic: 53% of non-Tesla EV owners actually experienced lower service costs compared to gas vehicle owners, with 41% of Tesla owners reporting similar savings. This is largely attributed to the simpler mechanical nature of EVs, which lack many of the complex components found in traditional engines, such as spark plugs, oil filters, and exhaust systems. Consequently, routine maintenance, including tire rotations and fluid checks, is often less frequent. Nevertheless, a striking 85% of EV owners reported needing to bring their vehicles in for repair or maintenance within the first year of ownership, indicating that while individual services might be cheaper, the frequency of required attention is notably higher.

Further insights from the CDK data highlight a developing issue concerning service efficiency for electric vehicles. Although EV owners appreciate conveniences like pick-up and mobile service options offered by dealerships, the time required for EV repairs is often substantially longer than for gasoline cars. Tesla owners, for instance, experienced repair durations approximately 23% longer than for ICE vehicles, while owners of other EV brands faced an even more considerable wait, about 34% longer. This extended downtime is exacerbated by a trend toward multi-day repairs. In 2023, 40% of EV repairs were completed on the same day; however, by 2024, this figure had dropped to just 28%. Concurrently, the percentage of EVs requiring overnight stays at service centers rose from 21% to 29% during the same period. David Thomas, Director of Content Marketing and Automotive Industry Analyst at CDK, emphasized the concerning nature of these worsening trends, particularly as more non-Tesla EVs enter the market.

A notable disparity also exists in the efficiency of problem resolution. While 71% of Tesla owners reported their issues were fixed in a single visit, only 65% of non-Tesla EV owners could say the same. Among those non-Tesla owners who required multiple visits, 52% needed two appointments, and a significant 21% required four or five trips to the service department. This suggests a less streamlined diagnostic and repair process for non-Tesla EVs. As the electric vehicle segment continues its robust growth, and traditional automakers like General Motors, Ford, Hyundai, and Honda expand their EV offerings, the established service networks, accustomed to routine maintenance of internal combustion engines, must rapidly adapt. The industry faces the imperative of enhancing technician training, optimizing repair processes, and ensuring adequate parts availability to meet the evolving demands of the burgeoning EV fleet, transforming initial growing pains into a mature and efficient service infrastructure.