Mitchell has published its latest Plugged-In: EV Collision Insights report for Q2 2024, which features the latest U.S. and Canadian claims data on battery electric vehicles (BEVs), mild hybrid electric vehicles (MHEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) — highlighting how differences in their complexity and construction are affecting claim costs and repair operations.

“Although BEV sales have slowed in 2024, sales of mild and plug-in hybrid automobiles remain strong,” Ryan Mandell, director of claims performance for Mitchell, said. “Like BEVs, these vehicles can be costlier to repair after a collision when compared to their internal combustion engine, or ICE, counterparts. However, with both an ICE and small electric battery, mild hybrids are remarkably similar to gasoline-only powered automobiles when it comes to claims severity.”

In Q2 2024, the average claims severity for repairable MHEVs was $4,726 in the U.S. and $5,302 in Canada, according to the report. For vehicles with an ICE, it was $4,806 in the U.S. and $4,958 in Canada, a difference of $80 and $344, respectively. Since PHEVs rely on a larger, high-voltage battery in addition to a secondary ICE, their average severity is more closely aligned to BEVs at $5,059 versus $5,753 in the U.S. and $5,665 versus $6,534 in Canada, according to the report.

According to Mitchell, other notable findings in this quarter’s report include:

• Total loss frequency: The total loss frequency of BEVs and 2021 and newer gasoline-powered vehicles — which are comparable in their complexity and cost to repair — remains similar at 9.16% for BEVs in the U.S. versus 9.45% for ICE automobiles and 7.24% versus 8.52% respectively in Canada.
• Repair operations: Although BEV collision-damage estimates have a higher average number of mechanical labor hours than ICE appraisals (5.21% compared to 8.18%), they’re less likely to include frame labor. Frame labor is added when technicians use a hydraulic frame machine to straighten both full ladder frame components and unibody structures. The lack of this labor type on BEV estimates could mean that their design is more effective at preventing crash energy from damaging the vehicle’s structural components.
• Parts utilization: OEM parts continue to be used more frequently in the repair of BEVs, with 89% of the parts dollars on estimates for repairable BEVs being OEM parts as compared to 65% for ICE automobiles.