J.D. Power’s annual study on consumer satisfaction with their electric vehicle has just been published on the web. The U.S. organization collaborated with PlugShare, a research company and developer of applications for electric vehicle drivers.
It shows that in the consumer electric vehicle category, the Kia Niro EV takes home the honors for a second year in a row with a score of 744 points. The Korean crossover finished just ahead of the Ford Mustang Mach-E with 741 points. These two models are the only ones to score above the market average of 709 points in 2022.
Of the other models cited by J.D. Power, the Nissan LEAF (with 708 points), the Hyundai Kona Electric and Volkswagen ID.4 (both with 692 points) and the Chevrolet Bolt (with 687 points) are not that far off the industry average.
On the luxury side, it’s no surprise that the Tesla Model 3 (with 777 points) is at the top, just ahead of the Tesla Model Y (with 770 points). Note that the average for the luxury segment is 770 points. The Tesla Model S receives a score of 756 points, while the Audi e-tron has 718 points.
2021 Tesla Model 3 | Photo: Tesla
Last year, the Tesla Model S topped the podium with a score of 798 points, compared to 790 for the Model 3. The 2021 average was 782 a year ago.
The study also found some relevant information, such as the fact that new EV owners are more satisfied with service (+48 pts), driveability (+15) and design (+8) than regular electric vehicle owners. On the other hand, “veterans” of the electric category are regulars with electric car features, which is why they have higher satisfaction ratings than new adopters, with battery range (+78 pts) and accuracy of battery’s claimed range (+49 pts).
For 2022, J.D. Power has increased the number of factors identified for its study to 10, up from seven last year. These are: accuracy of claimed range, availability of public charging stations, battery life, cost of ownership, driving pleasure, ease of home charging, interior and exterior styling (new in 2022), safety and technology features (new), service experience (new), and vehicle quality and reliability.
Not surprisingly, the most important purchase factor for an electric car owner is range, at 86% in the luxury niche and 87% in the mainstream EV category.
