A new study by J.D. Power shows that Tesla owner satisfaction is down but up for other electric vehicles.
JD Power’s annual Automotive Performance, Performance and Layout (APEAL) study measures customer satisfaction during the first 90 days of ownership, based on a survey that includes 37 vehicle attributes. With a score of 878 out of 1,000, Tesla remains one of the highest-ranked brands and outperforms others in several attributes, but that score is down nine points from a year ago, when Tesla was first included in the study.
The overall picture of electric vehicles is more positive. With the exception of Tesla, the score for electric vehicles was 840 points, up two points from the previous year, even as the industry as a whole saw a consecutive decline in year-over-year owner satisfaction in the 28-year history of the APEAL study. The industry-wide satisfaction score is 845—two points lower than in 2022 and three points lower than in 2021.
2022 BMW i4 M50
Electric vehicles are also closing the gap with gasoline cars. The average score of gasoline cars is 843 points, only 3 points higher than electric cars and equal to plug-in hybrid cars. Among the individual models, the bmw i4 was also the runner-up in the Premium Compact Car category, behind the Lexus IS.
However, some EV models seem to have lost some of the petrol models in the rankings. Mercedes-Benz EQS and Kia EV6 top gasoline car in their respective categories in the 2022 APEAL study, but did not repeat that this year. The i4 is the only EV in the top three of any model category.
Mercedes EQS 2023
This study also does not address service experience. Another JD Power study published earlier this year found that electric vehicle owners are less satisfied with agent service than petrol car owners.
Last year, JD Power realized that price was very important in Satisfaction level when charging electric vehiclesso we’ll have to see if as EV prices stabilize on their own, consumers will feel more positively about the vehicle.
And as JD Power has emphasized before, most first time electric car owner very satisfied with the EV ownership experience, and EV buyers are likely to get an EV back, even if their satisfaction falls short of that first impression.
