The battery in first place for breakdowns in 2024
The Automobile Club of Luxembourg saw the number of its interventions increase by 5% in 2024. A year marked by a record satisfaction rate of 97% and a mobility restoration rate of 84.5% of cases.
/--/uploads/2025/01/Photo-ACL-panne.jpg)
ACL : More interventions and greater efficiency in 2024
The year 2024 was marked by a 5% increase in interventions by the automobile club of Luxembourg (ACL), with a total of 33,040 interventions for members compared to 31,459 interventions in 2023. Most notably, the ACL’s roadside service improved its “success rate” by restoring member mobility in 84.5% of cases, compared to 81.9% the previous year. “Our agents are capable of intervening directly on several types of breakdowns to get our members back on the road and thus restore mobility as quickly as possible. Depending on the type of breakdown, we always recommend that members make an appointment with their mechanic for a thorough check or repair of the vehicle,” explains Louis-Nicolas Bier, director of operations at ACL.
Aware that the immobility of a user is the most irritating, the ACL constantly improves its processes, tools, and the skills of its employees to ensure the fastest and most efficient restoration of mobility possible. A positive development that we observe with a satisfaction rate of 97% among our members.
Top 5 breakdowns in 2024
Battery – 8,123 cases / + 8% in one year
Mechanical breakdown – 4,517 cases / + 14%
Tire – 4,455 cases / + 6%
Accident, collision, getting stuck – 3,180 cases / – 5%
Fuel-related breakdown – 1,115 cases / – 20%
The 12-volt battery remained, as in 2023, the main cause of breakdowns last year. With 8,123 cases, an increase of 8% in one year, the battery requires special attention. “Cold and aging are the worst enemies of the 12-volt battery. For example, at negative temperatures, a battery can lose up to 50% of its charge. On average, a battery should be checked after 3 years of use,” emphasizes Louis-Nicolas Bier.
12-volt battery breakdowns can affect both electric and combustion vehicles. Their role in the vehicle differs slightly, but a discharged or faulty 12-volt battery can cause similar problems in both types of engines.
In second place, with 4,517 interventions in 2024, are mechanical breakdowns and problems. With an increase of 14%, these are problems related to purely mechanical elements.
In third place is the flat tire. With 4,455 interventions, this type of breakdown is still very common and even increased by 6%. It should be noted that a flat tire can be caused by a curb or edge taken a bit too abruptly or due to a degraded or polluted road, such as by nails.
In fourth place are breakdowns related to an accident, collision, or getting stuck, with 3,180 interventions last year. This represents a 5% decrease in one year.
Finally, in fifth place is the breakdown related to a fuel problem. Although significantly reduced with a 20% decrease in one year, this breakdown is still quite common.
It should be noted that these five types of breakdowns represent 70% of ACL interventions in Luxembourg. Throughout the year, ACL services remind members of best practices to avoid breakdowns, such as having the battery checked after 3 years. The ACL has more than 120 different types of breakdowns in its categorization. For the sake of accuracy, we improve our diagnostics year after year to identify the numerous breakdowns more quickly and efficiently.
Also in our statistics, we note that towing services increased by 5% in one year. A fairly linear increase, which is mainly explained by the type of breakdown but also by the increase in breakdowns related to specific electronic problems.
The reasons for car breakdowns
In summary, the increase in car breakdowns is a complex phenomenon influenced by various factors, mainly:
- The increase in the number of vehicles on the roads.
- The aging of the vehicle fleet (drivers change cars less often because they do not know which engine type to choose and prices are rising).
- More and more electronics in vehicles.
- The lack of maintenance of 12-volt batteries, even in electric cars.
- Fewer and fewer spare tires in cars.
The Europe membership card becoming more useful
We also note that the number of breakdowns outside Luxembourg, in Europe, increased from 4,435 in 2023 to 4,671 in 2024, proving that our members are becoming more mobile with their vehicles. Moreover, more than 50% of leisure trips are made by car (source: Statec 2022). The ACL is a partner of ARC Europe, a network of roadside assistance services consisting of more than 40 major European automobile clubs and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), which is committed worldwide in the fields of sport, mobility, sustainability, and road safety. Thanks to its partners, the ACL can assist its members in all European countries.
Overall satisfaction of 97%
For the ACL, member satisfaction is an important indicator to continuously improve its services. Regularly, we ask our members for their feedback when they need to use our services. This results in an overall satisfaction rate of 97%.
But to go further, we note that the satisfaction rate regarding the speed of handling their call is 94.6%, and 90% are satisfied with the speed of the arrival of the breakdown service on site.
It should be noted that the satisfaction rate regarding the clarity of the information provided about the breakdown is 96.5%, and 98.2% are satisfied with the professionalism of our breakdown service providers.
Furthermore, in 92% of cases, members believe that the actual waiting time corresponded to the one announced during the telephone handling.
Finally, 90.5% of members who had to request assistance or advice recommend ACL services.
Day after day, all our teams do their utmost to continue improving our services.
Download the press release (in french)