TÜV-Report 2025
TÜV-Report 2025
21 November 2024
The Honda Jazz is the winner in the 2025 TÜV-Report. The latest model from the Japanese car brand clearly demonstrates that small cars can deliver outstanding quality, too. But a revelation of at least equal importance is that where the life span of e-vehicles is concerned, models based on combustion platforms come out on top. Wolfsburg-based VW notched up particularly good results with e-cars like the VW e-Golf and VW eUP. The Mini Cooper SE was also favorably received by the vehicle experts. In general, the results were virtually unchanged compared to the previous year’s report. Significant faults showed a minor increase from 20.5 to 20.6 percent. The new TÜV-Report, which was presented by the TÜV-Verband (the umbrella organization of leading German TIC providers and industrial companies) in Berlin on November 21, 2024, further confirmed that headlights are still the main weak point for cars and that the percentage of completely fault-free vehicles has fallen slightly by 0.4 percentage points, to 67.9 percent.
“Vehicle safety continues to be at an extremely high level,” says Jürgen Wolz, Head of Service Line Mobility and Official Activities Germany at TÜV SÜD Division Mobility, and adds: “This particularly applies to the growing numbers of electric vehicles on the road.” In that sector, evaluation of the available data revealed that the highest-quality electric cars are based on the same platforms that have been used by internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) for years. Proven engineering—in bodywork, chassis, powertrains, and brakes—is a hallmark of excellent quality in electric vehicles, too. However, the story is rather different when it comes to vehicles specifically designed as all-electric—such as the Tesla Model 3, which had 14.2 percent of significant faults (SF) after just two to three years, and the Renault Zoe, bringing up the rear of the field with 8.9 percent of SFs on its first mandatory periodic technical inspection (PTI). By way of comparison, the first PTIs undergone by the VW e-Golf and the Mini Cooper SE revealed SF levels of 3.4 percent and 4.4 percent respectively.
An examination of the fault categories for e-vehicles with dedicated platforms offers further confirmation: the largest number of faults involve components that are unrelated to the powertrain—such as the axle suspension, which already accounted for a SF rate of 3.0 percent at the Tesla Model 3’s first PTI. The Renault Zoe’s significant fault rate edged slightly above the average at 0.3 percent, while the VW e-Golf (0 percent) and the Mini Cooper SE (0.1 percent) were below or even well below that average. Chassis faults in e-vehicles are often down to the high weight of the batteries.
Furthermore, e-vehicle manufacturers rarely prioritize dedicated service network provision. As seen with the Tesla, lack of regular maintenance has consequences that later come to light at the vehicle’s PTI.
As TÜV SÜD expert Wolz points out, “The claim that e-vehicles need less maintenance is not entirely true; in fact, it only applies to the powertrain, which has no fluids or moving parts needing replacement. Onboard electronic monitoring systems in electric vehicles do cover the whole vehicle, and omit areas such as the chassis.”
Precisely adjusted headlamps and functioning indicators are essential in all vehicles, and e-vehicles are no exception. If something is wrong with these components, it may rapidly develop into a significant or even dangerous fault. Take the Tesla Model 3, for example;
4.3 percent of these vehicles fail their first PTI due to faulty low-beam headlights, while only 0.5 percent of e-Golfs failed their first PTI for the same reason. And then there are the indicators. The Renault Zoe proved to be a complete outlier in this respect, with a significant fault rate of 1.7 percent after seven years against the Tesla Model 3’s comparatively good result of 0.1 percent after three and five years.
In the lighting category, the TÜV Report for 2025 states that 1.5 percent of three-year-old cars come into their PTI with low-beam headlight faults. And the situation is correspondingly worse for 11-year-old vehicles, where the SF rate was 6.1 percent. In general, though, vehicle visibility has improved enormously over the years; the 2016 TÜV-Report still quoted a significant fault rate of 24.9 percent for low-beam headlights in 11-year-old vehicles. In the experts’ view, improvements to vehicle headlights are primarily due to technical improvements such as LED technology, as well as on-board diagnosis that allows faults to be detected at an earlier stage. Wolz comments, “Vehicle inspection experts are rigorous where it comes to headlight faults. After all, seeing and being seen are absolutely paramount for road safety. Given this, drivers should always have faulty headlights repaired immediately, instead of waiting until shortly before their periodic vehicle inspection.”
The “Golden Sticker” for 2025 goes to the Honda Jazz. Just 2.4 percent of these Japanese compact cars showed significant faults on their first PTI, with an average of 28,000 kilometers on the clock. The Jazz beats the previous year’s winner, the VW Golf Sportsvan, into second place (2.5 percent), where it was followed by the Audi Q2 and the Porsche 911 Carrera with a SF rate of 2.6 percent. In the previous year, those positions had been occupied by the Audi Q2 (second) and the Audi TT (third). In fifth place this year is the Mitsubishi ASX with only 2.7 percent of significant faults, proving that even a relatively affordable crossover vehicle can deliver safety excellence. The Japanese car, manufactured for the European market at the Renault plant in Valladollid, Spain, had actually notched up significantly higher mileage by its first PTI than its rival in first place, at an average of 40,000 kilometers—almost twice the mileage of the Porsche 911 Carrera.
Once again, the bottom of the table was occupied by the Tesla Model 3 (14.2 percent), followed by the Ford Mondeo (13.2 percent) in second from last place and the Skoda Scala with 11.8 percent as third from last. A look at the premium brands shows that unlike Audi and Mercedes, BMW only reached the lower midfield; its 3, 4, 5 / 6, and X5 / X6 series were all sent back to the workshop on their first PTI, with average SF rates of 6.5 and 8.2 percent respectively—despite the widespread popularity of maintenance agreements. The primary causes of faults concerned lighting, tires, and brakes.
From a long-term viewpoint, the Porsche 911 Carrera stayed out ahead in all age categories, with significant faults ranging from 3.1 percent in four-year-old vehicles and 4.0 percent for eight-year-olds to just 5.6 percent in ten-year old cars. Otherwise the VW Golf Sportsvan showed the lowest significant fault rate for four- to nine-year-old vehicles. However, the VW Sharan family minivan/multi-purpose vehicle trailed the field for nine-year-olds (23 percent). Some models were able to improve their results; six- to seven-year-old VW-T-Rocs (6.0 percent) and Mazda CX-3s (6.6 percent) joined the Porsche 911 on the winners’ podium, while the VW Golf Sportsvan and the Mazda 2 (10.6 percent) did the same in the eight- to nine-year-old category. The ten to 11-year-old category was headed by the Mercedes A- and B-Class; these high flyers reached second and third place even after clocking up an average of 114,000 kilometers. The podium in the 13-year-old category was taken by the Porsche 911 Carrera, the Mitsubishi ASX, and the VW Golf Plus.
The winner in the “Mini” category was the Kia Picanto (3.8 percent), while the Honda Jazz (2.4 percent) scooped first place in the small car category as well as emerging the winner overall. The e-Golf (3.4 percent) came up trumps in compact cars, while the Audi A4/A5 (4.7 percent) shone in the mid-size category. The Golf Sportsvan (2.5 percent) was the best van, and the Audi Q2 proved the most reliable SUV.
TÜV SÜD also performs a regional analysis of its data for the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Saxony, and Hamburg. Results across all vehicle age classes show that Saxony once again has the lowest fault rate at 16.4 percent, followed by Bavaria with 17.6 percent and Baden-Wuerttemberg with 19.5 percent. Hamburg has the highest fault rate, with 25.4 per cent of vehicles in TÜV HANSE’s heartland called in for re-inspection due to significant faults.
The TÜV-Report is published annually by the TÜV-Verband and is regarded as one of the leading independent references for drivers and used car dealers. The report incorporates roadworthiness test results from all TÜV companies in Germany; in the 2025 issue, this involved almost 10.2 million periodic technical inspections (PTIs) conducted between July 2023 and June 2024. As the largest provider of PTI services, TÜV SÜD contributed over 4.5 million results to the database.
The 2025 TÜV-Report will be available at TÜV SÜD service centers and stores from Friday, November 22, 2024, priced at EUR 5.90.
Note: Facts and figures are available at tuvsud.com/tuev-report (only available in German) and tuev-verband.de/en/.
Press-contact: Vincenzo Lucà
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