EV MOT Reliability Report: How Electric Cars Performed in May 2026
EVs passed 85.6% of May MOTs in AutoRank data. That is a strong raw number, but it also reflects the fact that many EVs being tested are still relatively young.
Based on AutoRank MOT tests completed in May 2026, matched to vehicles with Electric fuel type. Defect counts exclude advisories.
EV May pass rate
64,386 passes from 75,186 EV MOT tests.
Fuel comparison
Raw pass rate, before adjusting for age.
The quick read
AutoRank counted 75,186 EV MOT tests in May with a pass or fail result.
64,386 passed, giving EVs an 85.6% pass rate.
That is better than petrol and diesel in the raw table, but EVs also had the lowest median mileage in the fuel view.
High-volume EVs
The Nissan Leaf had the most EV MOT tests in this filtered model table, with 3,873 May tests and an 81.0% pass rate.
Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD followed with 3,350 tests and an 86.8% pass rate.
The Model Y, Hyundai Kona, BMW i3, Jaguar I-Pace and Kia Niro also had plenty of MOT volume.
What EVs failed on
The common EV defect list is very normal-car stuff. Tyres, windscreen damage and wipers show up a lot.
That is a useful reminder. EVs have fewer engine-related MOT worries, but they still wear tyres and still need lights, wipers and suspension parts to be right.
Highest-volume EV model records
Model wording follows registration data.
Common EV defect text in May
Advisories excluded. Similar left and right tyre faults are kept separate because MOT records store them that way.