Do Electric Cars Have a Spare Tyre? What Australian EVs Come With and What to Do About a Flat

Do electric cars have a spare tyre? In Australia, most don’t. Nearly every mainstream EV on sale, from the Tesla Model Y to the BYD Atto 3, MG4 and Kia EV5, ships with a tyre repair kit: a bottle of sealant and a small compressor. A few models still carry a space saver or full-size spare, and you can often buy one aftermarket. The catch is that a repair kit only fixes small punctures in the tread, so it’s worth knowing what to do when it can’t.

This matters more as EVs move into the mainstream. Battery-electric cars took 24.2 percent of new-car sales in September 2026 (Electric Vehicle Council and FCAI, via CarExpert). Flat tyres are also among the most common breakdowns. RACQ attended 74,840 flat tyre callouts in 2024-25, about one in every ten of its 736,924 roadside jobs.

The question comes up constantly among new owners, usually after the first puncture. A common story: a slow leak on a near-new EV, a tyre shop that won’t repair a foam-lined tyre, and a quote for a replacement running to hundreds of dollars. Here’s how to avoid that.

Do electric cars have a spare tyre? The model-by-model answer

No spare is the default. Of 16 popular electric and electrified models we checked against Australian reviews, 15 came with only a repair kit. The exception was the BYD Shark 6, a plug-in hybrid ute with a full-size spare under the tray.

Model	What you get in Australia	Source
Tesla Model 3	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Nov 2025
Tesla Model Y	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Oct 2025
BYD Atto 3	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Feb 2025
BYD Dolphin	Repair kit only	The Driven, Aug 2023
BYD Seal	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Dec 2025
BYD Sealion 7	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Dec 2025
BYD Shark 6 (plug-in hybrid)	Full-size spare	CarExpert, Aug 2025
MG4	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Aug 2026
Kia EV3	Repair kit only (room for a space saver, but none supplied)	CarExpert, Jan 2026
Kia EV5	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Aug 2026
Kia EV9	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Sep 2024
Hyundai IONIQ 5	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Apr 2026
Geely EX5	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Aug 2026
Toyota bZ4X	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Jan 2026
Zeekr 7X	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Jan 2026
XPeng G6	Repair kit only	CarExpert, Jul 2026

Specs can change with model-year updates, so check the brochure or ask the dealer for the exact car you’re buying.

Which EVs still come with a spare?

A short list of EVs sold in Australia still include one. As of September 2026, CarExpert listed:

• Hyundai Kona Electric: space saver
• GWM Ora 5: space saver
• Chery E5: full-size spare
• Subaru Trailseeker: space saver as a $1,145 option, which Subaru will also fit to cars already delivered
• Commercial EVs: the Toyota HiLux BEV, Ford E-Transit, Hyundai Staria Load Electric and LDV’s electric vans all carry a spare

If you regularly drive regional roads, a spare is worth putting on your shortlist criteria. A repair kit is fine in the suburbs, where a tyre shop is never far away. On a gravel road 200 km from the nearest town, a sidewall cut with no spare means a long tow.

Our EV boot space guide shows how much luggage room each model has, which is where an aftermarket spare would have to live.

Why don’t electric cars have a spare tyre?

EVs skip the spare for three reasons: space, weight and cost.

Space. The battery sits in a flat pack under the floor. In a petrol car, the spare well is a dip in the boot floor above the rear axle. In many EVs that space now holds the battery, a rear motor or an underfloor storage tub instead.

Weight. A space saver, jack and brace add the weight of a small passenger’s luggage. Every kilogram costs a little range and efficiency, and manufacturers chase both on the official test cycle.

Cost. A repair kit is cheaper to supply than a wheel, a tyre, a pressure sensor and a jack. Petrol cars have been heading the same way for years. EVs simply finished the job.

There’s no legal pressure the other way. We found no Australian rule requiring carmakers to supply a spare or drivers to carry one. The Australian Design Rules set standards for the tyres fitted to a car, and NSW’s roads authority confirmed years ago that makers aren’t required to provide a spare.

How EV tyre repair kits work, and their limits

A tyre repair kit is a bottle of liquid sealant and a 12-volt compressor that plugs into the car. You inject the sealant through the valve, inflate the tyre, then drive a short distance so the liquid spreads and plugs the hole from the inside.

It works well for the most common puncture: a nail or screw in the tread. Leave the object in place. Hyundai’s owner’s manuals say the sealant may not fix holes larger than about 4 mm or any damage to the sidewall. In those cases you need a new tyre, and the kit won’t get you there.

There are three catches:

1. It’s a temporary fix. Drive gently and get the tyre to a shop soon. Most kits limit your speed until then; check the label.
2. Sealant makes a mess. The tyre shop has to clean it out before patching. Hyundai’s manuals also warn that sealant must be cleaned off the tyre pressure monitoring sensor (TPMS), the small sensor inside the wheel that reports pressure to the dashboard. Tell the shop the tyre has sealant in it.
3. Kits expire. Sealant has a use-by date, often printed on the bottle. Check it when you buy a used EV, and replace the bottle after you use it.

Take the kit out once when you get the car and read the instructions. Learning it on the side of a highway at night is not the time.

Foam-lined EV tyres: can they be repaired?

Usually, yes, but not every tyre shop will do it. Many EVs wear acoustic tyres, which have a strip of sound-deadening foam bonded inside the tread. The foam cuts the tyre roar that’s more noticeable without engine noise.

According to the US Tire Manufacturers Association, these tyres can be repaired. The shop removes a small section of foam around the puncture, patches the tyre from the inside, and can refit the foam. A plug pushed in from the outside, the quick fix many people use on older cars, rarely seals well because the foam gets in the way.

The problem is willingness. Some shops won’t touch foam tyres because the repair takes longer, and they’ll quote a replacement instead. For a large EV SUV that can run to hundreds of dollars per tyre. Owners report having better luck by ringing several shops and asking directly whether they repair foam-lined tyres, or by trying a mobile tyre service or general mechanic.

Before paying for a new tyre, check the simpler causes of a slow leak. Spray soapy water over the tread, valve and wheel rim, and watch for bubbles. Owners have traced “punctures” to a loose valve core or a hairline crack in an alloy rim. Also check the tyre maker’s own warranty. Tyres are often excluded from the car’s warranty but covered separately by the tyre brand.

Our EV tyre cost guide covers what replacements cost and why EV tyres wear faster.

Roadside assistance when there’s no spare

Roadside assistance is your real spare. Most EV makers include it free for at least the first year, and it covers flats.

What happens depends on the program. Under BYD’s roadside assistance terms, the patrol uses the car’s repair kit where it’s safe. If it can’t be fixed, the car goes to the nearest tyre outlet or BYD dealer. BYD’s cover runs for 12 months from registration. Kia’s terms say a car without a serviceable spare is towed to the nearest facility that can repair or supply a tyre. Kia renews roadside assist with each dealer service, up to eight years. Hyundai and MG also include roadside cover; check your terms for how long it runs and how flats are handled. Tesla extended roadside cover to five years for cars delivered from January 2026, according to Australian reports.

Motoring clubs like NRMA and RACV will fit a roadworthy spare if you carry one. Without one, it’s a tow. NRMA advises against towing EVs with their driven wheels on the road, so ask for a flatbed truck.

Two habits help. Save your manufacturer’s roadside number in your phone now. And if your free cover lapses after a year, consider a club membership, especially if you drive regionally. Our EV insurance cost guide covers what policies include.

Should you buy an aftermarket spare?

If you drive long distances or rural roads, yes. In the city, a repair kit plus roadside assistance is usually enough.

Australian sellers offer space saver kits for popular EVs including the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, BYD Atto 3, Seal, Sealion 7 and Dolphin, and the MG4. As of October 2026, prices ran from about $300 for the wheel alone to about $700 for a complete kit with a jack, brace and TPMS sensor. Popular kits sell out, so allow time.

Check four things before you buy:

• Brake clearance. Performance versions often have larger brake calipers. Confirm the wheel clears them on your exact variant.
• Where it goes. A space saver wheel alone weighs about 19 kg and usually takes most of the underfloor boot space.
• The speed rating. Space savers are for emergency use. Follow the speed limit on the wheel’s label and the owner’s manual, often 80 km/h.
• A jack point plan. EVs have specific lifting points to avoid damaging the battery. Read the manual before you jack the car up.

A full-size spare is rarely practical in an EV because there’s nowhere to carry it. If you do carry one for outback trips, strap it down securely.

Before you buy an EV, the EV compare tool lets you line models up side by side. For every model on sale, start at our electric vehicles hub. Model reviews such as our XPeng G6 review note what comes in the boot.

The other common surprise for new EV owners is a flat 12-volt battery, which can strand a car with a full main battery. Our EV 12V battery guide explains how to avoid it.