U.S. Electric Vehicle Manufacturers Rank Dead Last in J.D. Power Quality Study

U.S. electric vehicle manufacturers fared very poorly in the 2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study. So poorly, in fact, that the four leading electric vehicle manufacturers in the United States came in last in the annual ranking.

The 223-question survey, which analyzes problems that arise in the early ownership period of a new vehicle, was based on responses from 93,380 purchasers and lessees of new 2023 model-year vehicles. The criteria is based on problems reported per 100 vehicles (PP100), from a range of nine categories including infotainment, features, controls and displays, exterior, driving assistance, interior, powertrain, seats, driving experience, and climate.

Tesla, Rivian, Polestar, and Lucid fared the worst in the ranking, with score of 257 PP100, 282 PP100, and 313 PP100 respectively, with Lucid coming in dead last at 340 PP100. The findings come on the heels of an incident earlier this month in which a Lucid Air model burst into flames while sitting unattended in a parking lot during a demo of Air Models.

A caveat to the research: J.D. notes that the sampling for those four automakers are not officially ranked alongside other brands in the study. Unlike the other car manufacturers, the four electric vehicle brands don't give J.D. Power permission to survey owners in states where authorization is required. As such, a score was calculated based on a sample of surveys from owners in the states where the data analytics company didn't need permission.

Among the highest-ranking brands are Dodge in first at 140 PP100, followed by Ram with 141 PP100 and the luxury brand Alfa Romeo at 143 PP100.

But while dedicated electric vehicles may have come in last, the study doesn't look particularly great for any car manufacturer in 2023.

J.D. Power found that new vehicles are having more issues overall, rising a record 30 PP100 over the past two years to an industry average of 192 PP100 in 2023. That's 12 PP100 greater than in the 180 PP100 recorded in 2022, which likewise increased 18 PP100 from 2021 to 2022.

The problems can be attributed to a range of factors from technology issues and safety system malfunctions to poor sounding horns and problematic door handles. Although the study found problems with new technologies like automatic emergency braking or lane-departure warnings, more basic features also saw growing problems.

"The automotive industry is facing a wide range of quality problems, a phenomenon not seen in the 37-year history of the IQS," said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, in a press release. "The industry is at a major crossroad and the path each manufacturer chooses is paramount for its future. From persistent problems carrying over from years past to an increase in new types of problems, today’s new vehicles are more complex—offering new and exciting technology—but not always satisfying owners."