EVs that are most commonly in collisions

The Nissan Leaf, one of the earliest modern-day electric vehicles released, is also the most collision-prone EV on the market.

A recent analysis highlighted which EVs are most likely to be involved in accidents — the Leaf lead the list.

The study by The Barnes Firm analyzed the number of electric vehicles involved in fatal crashes over the past five years, along with the number of each model sold in 2023. The crash rate per 1,000 cars sold in 2023 was then calculated to identify the EVs with the highest accident rates.

Topping the list of the most accident-prone EVs is the Nissan Leaf, which has a crash rate of 2.16 per 1,000 cars. Over the past five years, the Nissan Leaf has been involved in 26 fatal crashes, making it the leader despite its popularity.

The Kia Niro follows as the second most accident-prone EV, with a crash rate of 1.82. In 2023, the Kia Niro saw 27 fatal crashes, reflecting a significant increase from previous years.

The Hyundai Ioniq ranks third with a crash rate of 1.57 per 1,000 cars sold. The Hyundai Ioniq had 18 fatal crashes in 2023, matching the total number of crashes from the past four years combined.

The Tesla Model X comes in fourth with a crash rate of 1.08. Over the past years, the Tesla Model X has experienced 26 fatal crashes. Although it has fewer total crashes compared to other Tesla models, its lower sales volume results in a higher crash rate.

Rounding out the top five was the Audi e-tron with 0.87 crashes per 1,000 cars. Despite reporting only 2 fatal crashes in 2022 and 2023, the lower sales volume places it in the middle of the list.

The Hyundai Kona Electric has the lowest crash rate among the most accident-prone EVs, with 0.03 crashes per 1,000 cars. This model had only 2 fatal accidents over the past years, with 63,994 units sold in 2023.