Corona lowered the total number of breakdowns in 2020. For batteries, however, the pandemic was a problem.
The corona pandemic resulted in less traffic and a lower number of car breakdowns in the past year. The ADAC helpers went on 3,4 million missions - 400.000 fewer than in the previous year. However, because many vehicles were moved less often, the number of battery breakdowns was, according to the club, significantly higher than usual, especially in summer and autumn. The proportion of battery problems in all breakdowns rose from 41,8 to 46,3 percent for the year as a whole.
Defective 12-volt batteries are also the most common cause of breakdowns in electric cars, as a special analysis by the ADAC has shown. At 54 percent, the proportion of electric cars is around eight percent higher than that of conventional vehicles. The on-board battery is not needed to start an engine, but it is needed to supply the on-board electrics, the 12-volt architecture of which was adopted from ordinary cars. However, according to statistics, components such as the battery, electric motor or charging technology are very reliable and only responsible for 4,4 percent of breakdowns.
A total of 109 models from 25 car brands were evaluated for the breakdown statistics. 40 series were quite reliable, around half of the vehicles showed mixed results. 16 models performed particularly poorly.
