New York City has released preliminary maintenance costs for its electric fleet vehicles in comparison to select gasoline-powered vehicles. All-electric vehicles had the lowest recorded maintenance costs for 2018, dramatically less than gasoline, hybrid, or hybrid-plug-in models.

For battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), the oil change and spark plug and air filter replacement are a thing of the past. The city also doesn’t need to get transmission serviced or worry about mufflers or catalytic converters needing repairs or being stolen, an issue the fleet is dealing with now on gas and hybrid cars, according to Keith Kerman, chief fleet officer.

Tire and wiper issues remain the same as with gasoline cars, but regenerative braking on electric vehicles reduces wear on brakes and can vastly offer extend servicing intervals for items such as brake pads. 

This data does not take into account vehicle age, but Kerman noted that city has been purchasing BEVs since MY-2013. The city’s electric vehicles have not yet completed a full life cycle of approximately 10 years, and the fleet office will keep monitoring and reporting on maintenance performance.