MotorCheck Research · 2026

The Evidence Gap

We analysed every decision the Financial Ombudsman Service has ever published. What we found will change how you think about EV finance risk.

375,328FOS Decisions Analysed

271Verified EV Battery Cases

80%Consumer Win Rate (2026)

£1.7mExposure in 2025 Alone

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Funded Research

This research was independently produced and funded by MotorCheck, the UK’s vehicle intelligence platform. All 375,328 Financial Ombudsman Service decisions referenced in this paper are publicly available.

Key Findings

120/137

88% of consumers who sought to reject an EV through the FOS succeeded

120 EV rejections upheld, growing +83% year-on-year. Once a complaint reaches the rejection stage, the consumer wins nearly nine times out of ten. Average cost: £29,000.

£75,590

Largest single EV complaint in 2026

A family stranded on the motorway when their Jaguar EV lost all power — including hazard lights. The Ombudsman granted the final right to reject.

85%

Stellantis loses 85% of EV complaints

The highest upheld rate of any finance company with 10+ cases. Peugeot, Citroën, Vauxhall, and Fiat EV consumers almost always win.

What’s Inside the Paper

01The scale: 375k decisions, 271 verified EV cases
02What it’s costing you: £1.7m in 2025
03Consumer win rates are rising (80% in 2026)
04The legal framework: CRA 2015 + 6-month rule
0549 cases where evidence was the deciding factor
06Case studies: £75k rejections to range disputes
07EV complaint performance by lender
08The regulatory direction: EU Battery Passport
09The solution: ROI of battery certification
10Recommendations for finance companies + dealers

The vehicle health check dated March 2025 recorded no issues with the battery. In the absence of any further evidence, he was unable to conclude that the car was not of satisfactory quality.

Financial Ombudsman Service — DRN-5695390 (Not upheld, £54,956 protected)

Why We Funded This Research

MotorCheck has served the motor trade for nearly twenty years. As the UK’s transition to electric vehicles accelerates, we identified a significant gap: finance companies were losing Ombudsman cases not because their position was wrong, but because they lacked the evidence to defend it.

In 49 of the 271 verified cases we analysed, the presence or absence of a battery health certificate was the single deciding factor. That’s millions of pounds turning on a check that costs a fraction of the disputed amount.

We funded this research to put hard numbers behind what the industry has been sensing anecdotally. The dataset — 375,328 publicly available FOS decisions — is the most comprehensive analysis of its kind. We’ve simply done the work of reading every one of them.

This paper is free because the findings matter more than a paywall. We ask for your details only so we can follow up with readers who want to discuss the implications for their business.