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Electric company cars may incur higher rates of tyre wear than petrol or diesel vehicles, according to ATS Euromaster.
The SMR firm said that while EVs were expected to incur lower servicing costs, due to having fewer moving parts and the absence of requirements such as oil changes, a number of factors may increase their tyre wear rates.
It said these included the bulk of the cars, due to a prevalence of SUV bodystyles in the EV market and the need for heavy batteries, along with high levels of torque produced by electric motors, and regenerative braking systems.
However, according to ATS Euromaster operations director Mark Holland, the biggest influence on tyre wear rate is the driver.
He said: "With EVs there does seem to be a tendency for drivers new to electric vehicles to make continued use of the exceptional acceleration offered - at least during the initial phase of the driver's lifecycle with the vehicle.
"The data is very young at the moment and there's certainly not enough to draw significant conclusions about tyre wear, but driver behaviour appears to be a significant factor."
Citing research by Michelin which found that nearly 60% of EV drivers used full acceleration either at every safe opportunity, or during the early phase of their time with the vehicle, Holland said: "This strongly suggests to us that fleets should prepare for accelerated tyre replacement on EVs, certainly in the first phase of driver use. It seems the novelty of the EV driving experience is having an unexpected effect on tyre wear rates.
"We would also suggest that fleets actively consider driver training before handing over a new EV to a company employee to mitigate these issues, but also as part of a broader duty of care programme."
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