Myth: EVs are too heavy for many car parks

Electric vehicles are much heavier than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, so may cause car parks to collapse if adopted in large numbers.

Fact:

This myth emerged in the wake of the collapse of a second-floor parking garage in New York in April 2023. Initial reports suggested that the cause was an excess of cars that had been parked there – something that was not actually true. Then fears started to circulate there would be more such collapses if EVs became the dominant type of vehicles in America, as they are heavier than ICE vehicles. 

In fact, there is no evidence that car parks will collapse if they are populated with EVs. It’s true that EVs are up to 50 percent heavier than ICE vehicles, but most being sold are smaller models, which weigh no more than an SUV. Private car parks, of course, don’t have this problem as they are mostly on the ground floor of apartment buildings, where there is no danger of a collapse.