Consumer Reports analyzes statistics and customer reviews for various types of products sold in the United States, following which reliability ratings are compiled among products of the same type from different manufacturers. As the EV fleet has expanded, claims have piled up on this type of vehicle, which by design contains fewer parts and is less likely to fail. Not all Tesla models have even earned recommendations from Consumer Reports.
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The publication uses a car reliability rating on a scale from 0 to 100 points. From the beginning of the year to September, 576,000 electric vehicles were sold in the United States, significantly more than in the same period last year (340,000 electric vehicles). The market share of electric vehicles in the US increased from 3% to 6% over the year, which clearly indicates the growth of their popularity in the region.
As electric vehicles proliferate, so do the number of complaints regarding their performance. According to Consumer Reports, of all vehicle types in terms of powertrains, it is electric vehicles that have caused the most complaints from consumers 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 is from 41 to 60 points.
According to the authors of a sociological study, buyers of electric vehicles in the United States most often complain regarding problems with traction batteries, charging systems, electric motors and other elements of the power drive. At least these types of problems have been mentioned by the 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 from owning them – an average of 78 points on the Consumer Reports scale. This can be explained by the fact that compared to electric vehicles, hybrids are produced much longer and they have already survived many “childhood illnesses”.
The ten most problematic vehicles in the US market include the fairly common and relatively cheap Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car, whose reputation of 17 points may have been affected by a story with a massive recall due to defective batteries manufactured by LG Energy Solution. Equipped with Korean-made batteries, the Hyundai Kona Electric model generally scored 5 points. At the same time, the products of the Korean concern 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, has traditionally taken two positions in the top three most reliable car brands in the Consumer Reports ranking. Premium Lexus topped it, while parent Toyota came in second. Tesla remains the most popular electric vehicle in the US, ranking 19th in Consumer Reports with a score of 40. A year ago, Tesla products weren’t in the top 20 for reliability. Tellingly, the Tesla Model 3 is recommended by the authors of the study for purchase with a rating of 78 points, while the related Tesla Model Y is still content with 73 points and cannot qualify for Consumer Reports recommendations.
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