Are electric cars safe?

Short answer? Yes, the safest cars on the road are electric.

We understand why so many people ask this question. You want to be sure that the car you use to take your kids to school, drive to work, and use for weekend errands is as safe as it can be.

We’re here to reassure you that EVs are, more often than not, safer than their petrol/diesel cousins. Here’s why.

Before any car, electric, petrol, or diesel, is available to the public, manufacturers and a standards agency carry out a stringent set of safety tests that mimic real-life situations, and create benchmarks to make cars safer.

EVs go through this process in exactly the same way as all other cars. A car either passes the safety checks or it does not - no matter what fuel it.

Car models sold in the UK will be independently safety tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP). Their 0-5 star ratings are a fantastic tool for drivers looking for an objective car safety measure – especially because Euro NCAP updates their tests regularly to account for new technology.

EVs regularly hit the highest safety scores on the Euro NCAP. New EV models make up a disproportionate number of top scorers, including:

• BMW i5
• Audi Q6 e-tron
• Mercedes EQE
• Smart #3
• Tesla Model 3
• Tesla Model Y

EVs have more space in and around the bonnet because they do not need a chunky combustion engine. You’ll find some smaller parts that are important to making the car drive, but these can be broken and replaced to preserve human life and health.

This allows engineers to build the best crumple zones they can, because EVs provide a blank slate for designing. These crumple zones slow down crashes by absorbing and dissipating the overall impact of a collision, keeping the passengers safe.

EVs are only slightly heavier than equivalent petrol and diesel cars, but because the battery is heavy and dense, it can be placed in the perfect position to aid safety and performance.

The battery centres the weight along the bottom and centre of the car, lowering the centre of gravity and drastically reducing the risk of rollover in many different situations. It also allows for better side impact protection, because the heavy battery strengthens the side of the car, offering a high level of protection to the cabin (and everyone in it). If you want to get geeky, the battery and other strong components (B pillars and doors) form something similar to a roll cage, and this protects the survival cell.

And, as performance EVs commonly have two separate motors, EV drivers can benefit from the safety offered by the computer, making sure that both ends of the car are behaving as the driver has requested.

This is because an electric motor can speed up or slow down almost instantly, controlling the speed of the axle significantly quicker than a traditional traction control or torque vectoring system.

A petrol vehicle can’t speed up the front wheels while slowing the rear wheels with the engine. Think of it as a dimmer switch (EV) vs candles (petrol or diesel) and then having one match to light both candles or each light having its own dimmer switch.

In the future, extra motors on EVs will not just do this front to back, but also side to side.

The rumour that EVs are more susceptible to vehicle fires couldn’t be further from the truth.

EVs catch fire much less regularly than petrol/diesel cars, because EVs don’t use combustible fuels. It is significantly easier for petrol to set alight due to a rogue spark than it is for a lithium-ion battery. The battery has multiple redundancy systems to protect it, whereas a petrol engine runs off its own controlled explosions.

Recent data backs this up. A major study by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, corroborated by data from a US insurer using National Transportation Safety Board figures, suggests that EVs are 20 times less likely to catch fire than petrol/diesel cars.

Another extensive study suggests that Teslas drive between five and seven times further before any sort of fire event than US vehicles on average. Tesla's experience a fire for every 100- 140 miles driven, against the US average of just under 20 miles.

Vehicle fires are generally a pretty rare occurrence, with the vast majority started deliberately, usually due to criminal activity. So, not only is the risk of accidental vehicle fire low in the first place – if you opt for an EV, it drops even further.

Much of the tech that EVs run on is software-based. As most modern EVs are ‘smart’ (connected to the internet), you can download and install improvements to this software nearly instantly.

This means you can get the latest safety features even after you’ve bought or leased your car. For example, you might download improvements to your blind spot monitoring system, or a new air bag firing sequence to protect you in a side impact.

Because EV manufacturers have huge amounts of driving data to draw on while developing and updating safety features, your EV gets safer as time goes by and technology improves even further. EVs: the safest cars on the market?

If market-topping vehicle safety is a priority for you (and why wouldn’t it be), EVs might just be your strongest bet.

EVs are subject to exactly the same safety checks as petrol/diesel vehicles, and often outperform them. Larger crumple zones, stronger stressed components, and multi-motor tech offer stability and safety, whilst the lack of combustible fuels decreases fire risk significantly.

If you’re looking for a car that’s safe, smart, and saves you money, check out our Intelligent EV, personal leasing scheme. Lease an EV with the latest safety tech, get exclusive home and public charging discounts, and enjoy an extensive maintenance package that keeps your car in top shape.