Electric cars are heavier than petrol and diesel alternatives. That's why electric cars also wear out their tires faster. Some are much worse than others.
A large British survey of 2 million car owners shows that Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners change tires much more often than all other electric car owners.
The Tesla Model 3 tops a new British study . At least when it comes to tire wear.
Car tires wear out the fastest in 54 out of 170 parts of the country, according to figures from tire company KwikFit based on the frequency of tire changes.
The study is based on data from two million UK car owners who had their tyres replaced by KwikFit within a 12-month period. The company then took a close look at the worn tyres.
The analysis shows significant differences between car models. Owners of certain models appear to need to change tires more often than others.
The Tesla Model 3 is the model that appears most frequently on the list of fast tire wear. As mentioned, it tops the list in 54 geographic areas of the country.
The next car on the list isn't an electric car. It's a Citroën Berlingo. The popular van topped the list in 24 areas in the UK.
KwikFit: Tire Inspection Results
However, Tesla is represented again in third place in the survey. Here we find the Tesla Model Y. That model also seems to wear out tires relatively quickly. That is, when you look at how often the owners come in with worn tires.
The Model Y topped the list of fastest tire wear in 16 of the areas tested, placing it just behind the Citroën Berlingo and fourth on the list.
In fourth place we find a German car. It's the Mercedes CLA. That model topped the list in nine British areas according to KwikFit.
The company emphasizes an important detail in the study: it did not take into account how many kilometers are short between each tire change.
The study only looks at how often owners have had their tires replaced. It does not directly say anything about tire wear per short kilometer for the individual models.
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y: High tire wear?
The results more than suggest that electric cars chew through a set of tires at an alarming rate. Owners of certain models visit the tire center more frequently than others. This is especially true for the Tesla Model 3.
Several factors can affect overall tire wear. The weight of the car, the engine torque, driving style and the type of tire itself play a significant role in durability.
Electric cars are often heavier than their petrol or diesel counterparts. They also typically have high and instantaneous torque, which can put stress on the tyres.
However, this is not something the KwikFit study directly comments on or investigates the cause of. It only notes the frequency of tire changes for the different models in the dataset.
For car owners, more frequent tire changes can mean increased operating costs. Tires are a significant item in the overall car budget, especially for electric cars.
In Denmark, other studies show that tires for electric cars are often more than twice as expensive when they are installed on electric cars. Read more about this here .
