The TÜV Report 2026, the annual report which analyzes the reliability of used vehicles based on more than 9.5 million periodic technical inspections (MTs) carried out in Germany in 2025, has issued its decision.
In a context where one in five cars … analyzed does not pass the test on the first try, one brand in particular finds itself at the bottom of the ranking: Tesla.
The TÜV Süd report reveals that although electric cars generally achieve comparable safety and durability results to combustion cars, the American brand accumulates the biggest problems in young vehicles.
The brand’s best-selling model in Germany, the Tesla Model Y, occupies last place in the ranking. It has an alarming 17.3% rate of defects on cars 2-3 years old, making it the most defective model of the year. Its main weaknesses are concentrated in the suspension and brakes categories.
In addition, the poor performance is not exclusive to its SUV, since the Model 3 also records a high failure rate of 13.1%, consolidating Tesla as the brand that concentrates the greatest number of problems in the new electric vehicle segment.
The TÜV report, which evaluates 216 models up to 15 years old, highlights that the categories which accumulate the most failures are transversal to all brands: the suspension comes first with 8.2% of defects, followed by brakes (7.1%), emissions (6.5%) and lights (5.8%). The progression of defects is another subject of concern: while on cars 2 to 3 years old, breakdowns vary between 2.9% and 17.3% (with Tesla at worst), these reach 40.4% on vehicles 12 to 13 years old, reflecting the aging of the vehicle fleet.
In contrast, premium German and Japanese brands stand out for their reliability. Models like the Mazda 2 Hybrid top the rankings with only 2.9% defects, demonstrating the great durability these manufacturers continue to offer.
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