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TÜV Süd on the Defect Report: The Best Electric Cars are Based on Combustion Models

(ots/jr) The winner is the small car Honda Jazz. In terms of the durability of generally technically reliable electric cars, models based on internal combustion engines are ahead. Tesla falters. And: Maintenance works wonders even for electric cars.

More and more electric vehicles listed: The electric cars are generally performing well, with the exception being Tesla. Among the compact cars, the e-Golf, a BEV, is even at the very top. | Photo: TÜV Süd
More and more electric vehicles listed: The electric cars are generally performing well, with the exception being Tesla. Among the compact cars, the e-Golf, a BEV, is even at the very top. | Photo: TÜV Süd
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With the Honda Jazz, a small car has won the overall rating of the TÜV Report 2025. Otherwise, electric cars in particular score points, especially those vehicles based on mixed combustion platforms. The Wolfsburg models stand out with particularly good values: for example, the VW e-Golf or the VW eUP. The Mini Cooper SE also scores points with the experts. Overall, the values remain almost the same compared to the previous year's report. The rate of significant defects increases slightly from 20.5 to 20.6 percent. Other results of the new TÜV Report, which the TÜV Association has now presented in Berlin: Lighting remains the main defect, the rate of vehicles without defects decreases slightly - by 0.4 percentage points to 67.9 percent.

"Vehicle safety is still at a very high level," says Jürgen Wolz, Head of Service Line Mobility and Official Activities Germany Division Mobility TÜV SÜD, adding: "This also particularly applies to the increasing number of electric cars."

The evaluations here show that the highest quality electric cars run on platforms with which combustion vehicles have been on the road for years. Bodies, chassis, drive trains, brakes - proven technology also ensures excellent quality in electric cars.

Pure BEV platforms are worse

This is different for vehicles that were designed solely for electric drive from the outset. Examples of this are the Tesla Model 3, which has 14.2 percent significant defects (SD) after just two to three years, and the Renault Zoe, which lands at the very last ranks with 8.9 percent SD at its TÜV debut. The comparison shows the difference: The VW e-Golf has 3.4 percent and the Mini Cooper SE has 4.4 percent when they first appear at the TÜV.

Batteries are heavy

A look at the defect groups of e-vehicles on their own platform supports the hypothesis: Because mainly components that have nothing to do with the drive are criticized. For example, suspension: Already in the first inspection round, the Tesla Model 3 has an SD rate of 3.0 percent here. The Renault Zoe is slightly above average at 0.3 percent. VW e-Golf (zero percent) or the Mini Cooper SE (0.1 percent) are thus sometimes well below that. A common reason for defects in the chassis is often the high weight of the batteries.

Manufacturers like Tesla neglect maintenance

Additionally, manufacturers of such vehicles hardly rely on maintenance in the workshop. Missing service intervals like with Tesla inevitably leave their marks, which are only detected at the TÜV.

TÜV SÜD expert Wolz: "Do electric cars need less maintenance? Not quite. That only applies to the drive train, because no fluids or moving parts need to be replaced. The chassis, for example, cannot be monitored electronically."

An electric car also needs accurately adjusted headlights and functioning indicators. If something is wrong here, it quickly becomes a significant or even dangerous defect. For example, 4.3 percent of Tesla Model 3s already fail in the first general inspection due to defects in the dipped headlights. In comparison, it is only 0.5 percent for the e-Golf. Indicators - and thus the Renault Zoe falls completely out of the ordinary after seven years: 1.7 percent SD. The Tesla Model 3, on the other hand, performs well with 0.1 percent for each three and five years in direction indicators.

LED brings progress: The Light Defect Rates

1.5 percent of three-year-old cars present with insufficient low beam headlights. It looks correspondingly gloomier for eleven-year-olds: 6.1 percent. Overall, the visibility of vehicles has enormously improved over the years. In 2016, the TÜV Report recorded 24.9 percent defect rate in low beam headlights for eleven-year-olds. Improvements in lighting are largely attributed, according to experts, to technical advancements like LED lights. Additionally, on-board diagnostics lead to earlier detection of failures.

Wolz: "When it comes to lighting defects, experts make no concessions. Seeing and being seen is a fundamental requirement for safe road traffic. Therefore, drivers should always have defective lamps repaired immediately - not just shortly before the vehicle inspection."

Honda Jazz is the winner

The Honda Jazz receives the golden plaque for 2025. Only 2.4 percent of the Japanese small cars show significant defects during their first vehicle inspection - with an average mileage of 28,000 kilometers. The Jazz relegates last year's winner, the VW Golf Sportsvan, to second place (2.5 percent). Then come the Audi Q2 and the Porsche 911 Carrera with 2.6 percent defect rate. Last year, these ranks were held by the Audi Q2 (second place) and the Audi TT (third place).

In fifth place, the Mitsubishi ASX proves with only 2.7 percent significant defects that even a comparatively inexpensive crossover can be very safe. The Japanese car, manufactured for the European market at the Renault plant in Valladolid, Spain, has significantly more kilometers at its first vehicle inspection with an average of 40,000 kilometers—almost twice as many compared to the Porsche 911 Carrera.

Repeatedly Tesla: E-pioneer is lagging

At the end of the table again is the Tesla Model 3 (14.2 percent). In second to last place: the Ford Mondeo (13.2 percent), third to last: Skoda Scala with 11.8 percent. Looking at premium brands, it stands out that BMW—unlike Audi and Mercedes—only ranks in the lower midfield. The 3/4 series, 5/6 series, and X5/X6 must return to the workshop, on average, with defect rates of 6.5 or 8.2 percent already the first time—and this despite widespread service agreements. The reasons for this are mainly defects in lighting as well as tires and brakes.

They are safe for a long time

On the long-distance view, the Porsche 911 Carrera leads in all age groups—from 3.1 percent in four-year-old vehicles to 4.0 percent (8-year-olds) and just 5.6 percent in ten-year-old cars. Otherwise, the VW Golf Sportsvan has the fewest significant defects from four to nine years old. The VW Sharan family van ranks lowest after nine years (23 percent).

Back to the front in the tables: After six to seven years, the VW-T-Roc (6.0 percent) and the Mazda CX-3 (6.6 percent) top the podium with the 911, in the eight to nine-year-olds: the VW Golf Sportsvan and the Mazda 2 (10.6 percent). At ten to eleven years: the Mercedes A- and B-Class stand out. Even after averaging 114,000 kilometers, the high achievers make it to second and third place. A glance at the winner’s podium for the thirteen-year-olds: Porsche 911 Carrera, Mitsubishi ASX, and VW-Golf Plus.

These are the class bests

In the "Mini" class, the Kia Picanto (3.8 percent) wins. Among small cars, the overall winner Honda Jazz (2.4 percent) takes first place. In the compact category, the e-Golf (3.4 percent) wins. In the mid-size class, the Audi A4/A5 (4.7 percent) shine. The Golf Sportsvan (2.5 percent) is the best van, and the Audi Q2 is the most reliable SUV.

Translated automatically from German.
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