Consumer Reports analyzes statistics and customer reviews for various types of products sold in the United States, then compiles reliability ratings between products of the same type from different manufacturers. As the electric vehicle fleet has expanded, complaints have accumulated about this type of vehicle, which by design contains fewer parts and is less likely to break down. Not all Tesla models even earned recommendations from Consumer Reports.
Image source: Tesla
The publication uses an assessment of the car’s reliability on a scale of 0 to 100 points. Year-to-date through September, 576,000 EVs were sold in the United States, significantly more than in the same period last year (340,000 EVs). The market share of EVs in the US increased from 3% to 6% over the year, which clearly indicates their growing popularity in the region.
As EVs proliferate, so do the number of complaints about their performance. According to Consumer reportsOf all vehicle types in terms of powertrains, it is EVs that have caused the most consumer complaints in the United States. Their average reliability rating was 36 points. Only full-size pickup trucks with internal combustion engines, which are very popular in the country, performed worse with a score of 30 points. The average result for all cars ranges from 41 to 60 points.
According to the authors of a sociological study, buyers of electric vehicles in the United States most often complain of problems with traction batteries, charging systems, electric motors and other engine elements. At least these kinds of problems have been mentioned by owners of Chevrolet Bolt, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Kona Electric and Volkswagen ID.4. Hybrid vehicles, including plug-in versions, show much higher reliability and customer satisfaction since ownership – an average of 78 points on the Consumer Reports scale. This is explained by the fact that compared to electric vehicles, hybrids are produced much longer and have already survived many “childhood diseases”.
The ten most problematic vehicles in the US market include the fairly common and relatively affordable Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car, whose 17-point reputation may have been affected by a story with a massive recall due to faulty batteries made by LG Energy Solution. Equipped with Korean-made batteries, the Hyundai Kona Electric model generally scored 5 points. At the same time, the Korean company’s products in some cases took the highest lines of reliability among electric vehicles in the United States: Kia EV6 (91 points), Genesis GV60 (84 points) and Hyundai Ioniq 5 (76 points) .
Until recently, Toyota Corporation, which has shown indifference to electric vehicles, traditionally occupied two positions in the top three most reliable car brands in the Consumer Reports ranking. Premium Lexus overtook it, while parent company Toyota came in second. Tesla remains the most popular electric vehicle in the United States, ranking 19th in Consumer Reports with a score of 40. A year ago, Tesla products weren’t in the top 20 for reliability. Significantly, the Tesla Model 3 is recommended by the study authors for purchase with a rating of 78 points, while the related Tesla Model Y is still satisfied by 73 points and cannot qualify for Consumer Reports recommendations.
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