The electric vehicle (EV) owners most satisfied with their cars drive Tesla Model 3 sedans or Kia Niro crossovers.
That’s the conclusion J.D. Power researchers reached after surveying 8,122 owners of 2016-2022 model-year EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles. J.D. Power worked with EV research firm PlugShare to develop the survey.
Scores Similar Between Affordable, Luxury Cars
Researchers polled owners on 10 facets of EV ownership, including cost of ownership, driving enjoyment, reliability, and the accuracy of advertised range. Scores were tallied on a 1,000-point scale.
Overall, Tesla Model 3 owners were happiest with their experience. The Model 3 earned a score of 777. Luxury electric cars scored an average of 770 in the survey.
Among more affordable EVs, the Niro won out, with a score of 744. The Ford Mustang Mach-E placed a close second at 741. The average score in the mass-market segment was 709.
Veteran EV owners were overall more satisfied with their ownership experience than first-time EV buyers. That suggests that Americans may grow more satisfied with electric car ownership as we get used to how EVs fit into our lives.
Incentives Make a Big Difference
More than two-thirds of buyers in the study had received a tax incentive for their purchase. Tesla vehicles bought after January 1, 2020, are no longer eligible. But the survey included many respondents who had bought their Tesla when the credits still applied.
“Overall satisfaction is higher among owners who say incentives are very easy to get (760) vs. among owners who say incentives are somewhat/very difficult to get (712),” J.D. Power says.
Complaints varied between the price classes. Owners of mass-market EVs were most likely to cite problems with infotainment systems as their chief complaint. Luxury EV owners most often complained about exterior fit and finish issues and squeaks and rattles.
