Do the electric motors in EVs wear out?
Yes, but they last much longer than fuel-burning petrol or diesel engines and require next to no maintenance.
Electric motors are very simple machines. They have two major parts and only one of them moves. The moving part is called the rotor, and it spins away encased inside the stationary part, known as the stator.
There’s a very small air gap between rotor and stator, so there’s no rubbing here to cause wear. The interior of the motor is entirely sealed, so there’s no way for dust or dirt to get inside. The only parts of an electric motor that must eventually wear out are the bearings at either end of the rotor shaft.
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Inside an ICE (internal combustion engine) it’s a very different story. There are many moving parts; pistons, connecting rods, camshafts, valves and the crankshaft, to name only the most basic bits. These are in close contact, and only the oil circulating through the engine’s lubrication system prevents quick and catastrophic meltdown when it runs.
It’s amazing that a well cared for ICE will typically last for 200,000km or more. Over that time it will require a lot of maintenance. Vital fluids, like oil and coolant, and filters will need regular replacement. So too will wear-prone components like spark plugs and cam belts.
An electric motor requires none of these things to remain healthy over its lifetime.
There is actually some evidence to suggest that maintenance-free electric motors actually improve with age. Respected Italian magazine Quattroruote recently conducted a thorough test of a Nissan Leaf that had covered 210,000km in four years.
They found that the well used EV’s performance and energy efficiency were measurably better than the same model Leaf they had tested when new. And the car’s sole owner, Leonardo Spacone, reports that it has never needed to visit a workshop.
