It can be difficult to convince the haters of the virtues of electric cars unless those people are Californians, or those people were already on board with the concept to begin with. But, according to a new study, people tend to stay once they make the leap.
JD power said it was the first time it had done the study, which it calls the Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study, which is why I will call it “the study.” The study asked electric car owners several questions about how satisfied they are with their electric vehicles. Not surprisingly, owners said range was what mattered to them, along with how good or bad the charging network is, and cost savings over the life of the vehicle over a gasoline car.
More interestingly, brand loyalty doesn’t seem to be much in the EV world, at least among people who weren’t quite as satisfied with the EVs they ended up with. Most of those people also say they will buy another EV.
The survey shows that 95% of EV owners with an overall ownership satisfaction of over 900 points say they will buy another EV. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of these owners say they will “definitely” buy back the same brand. However, the likelihood of repurchasing the same brand decreases as satisfaction decreases. Of owners with a satisfaction rating of between 600 and 750 points, 77% say they will “definitely” buy another electric car, although the probability of buying back the same brand is only 25%.
The point scores in that section refer to the responses of individuals, not the index score for specific models, but you can probably guess who scored the highest overall. I invite you to view the following bar charts from the study:
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The story therefore seems to be that many Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt owners weren’t necessarily smitten with their Leafs or Bolts, but that hasn’t ruined the electric car forever either. The worst news is probably for Audi and Jaguar, who went straight to Tesla and both ended up behind. Most Tesla owners, meanwhile, seem perfectly happy with their decision, with one caveat:
While driving pleasure differs significantly from segment to segment (892 for premium BEV and 758 for mass market BEV), only in the mass market segment driving pleasure outweighs quality and reliability. Quality and reliability are key factors in the premium electric vehicle experience. It is noteworthy that while Tesla is perceived as poor quality, Tesla owners are generally more satisfied, indicating their willingness to overlook quality issues.
Quality issues have chased Tesla for years, and if that didn’t sink them at this point, it probably never will. And the idea that older automakers can beat Tesla if they do just trying is becoming more and more dubious.