GLOBALLY, there is a significant shift in both the production and sales of electric vehicles. More and more battery electric vehicle (BEV) models are now available for purchase. According to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study, released last February, the shift is most evident in the respective premium and mass market segment award recipients, Rivian R1T and MINI Cooper Electric, pointing out how owners’ satisfaction with their overall experience is shifting to more traditional factors such as quality and styling.
The Rivian R1T, a US designed and built vehicle ranks highest overall with a satisfaction score of 794 (on a 1,000-point scale) in the US premium automobile segment. Tesla Model 3 (759) ranks second.
The Mini Cooper Electric ranks highest in the mass market segment with a score of 782. This is supported by the highest satisfaction score of any EV model in the study’s highest-weighted index factor, quality and reliability. Kia EV6 (762) ranks second and Ford Mustang Mach-E (742) ranks third.
“Recent vehicle launches from both new brands and traditional automakers have had a profound effect on what factors are most important in the ownership experience. Today’s EV owners are looking for quality, reliability, driving enjoyment, safety and technology features,” Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power said.
The largest gap in satisfaction between owners of premium and mass market BEVs is availability of public charging. In the US the large presence of Tesla charging stations give it a which is greatly influenced by the Tesla network of chargers. Among premium BEV owners, satisfaction with public charging availability is 589, while satisfaction among mass market BEV owners is 341.
Build quality is extremely important to the mass market group. This includes first time EV buyers who are more mainstream will compare their EV’s build quality to what they know about gas-powered vehicles. They cite infotainment as the most problematic category (19.2 problems experienced per 100 vehicles). However, , satisfaction among first-time BEV owners is higher than those who already own BEVs. 75 percent of them say driving performance is the most frequently cited purchase reason (75 percent).
The study shows an increase of 11 percentage points, from 2022 in the rate of first-time BEV ownership. A host of new product offerings in this market–excluding most China-made cars for the US market–attract new buyers at a more rapid rate.
“The electric vehicle landscape is changing quickly, and newer models are bringing in more mainstream, first-time EV buyers,” Gruber said.
The study is conducted in collaboration with PlugShare, the leading EV driver app maker and research firm. This study sets the standard for benchmarking satisfaction with the critical attributes that affect the total or overall EV ownership experience for both BEV and PHEV vehicles. Survey respondents for the study include 7,073 owners of 2022 and 2023 model-year BEVs and PHEVs. The study was fielded in from August through December 2022 exclusively to the North American market.
