A dog looks out the window while sitting on a Tesla electric vehicle while charging at a Tesla Supercharger station in Santa Monica, California, on May 15, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon AFP | Getty Images
Tesla An influential annual study by JD Power shows the company is losing its lead over traditional carmakers when it comes to the quality of new all-electric vehicles.
2024 US initial quality study The study found that the quality of Tesla’s battery electric vehicles (BEVs) was the same as that of traditional automakers, with 266 problems reported for every 100 new vehicles sold or leased.
Tesla models previously performed better than electric vehicles from traditional automakers in annual quality surveys. Last year, the U.S. electric vehicle leader ranked at 257 problems per 100 vehicles, compared with an average of 265 problems per 100 vehicles for electric vehicles from traditional automakers.
The study attributes Tesla’s growing problems to negative customer reactions after the company removed controls for traditional functions like turn signals and wiper stalks.
Since JD Power began including Tesla in its study in 2022, Tesla has consistently ranked last in initial quality across the broader industry (not just pure electric vehicles).
Overall, the study, which for the first time included service visit data from franchised dealers, found there were more repairs on electric vehicles such as battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) than on conventional petrol and diesel-powered vehicles. Problems with Internal Combustion Engines.
“Owners of cutting-edge, high-tech pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are experiencing problems severe enough that they are getting new cars to dealers three times faster than owners of gasoline-powered vehicles,” Senior people said.
The study found that plug-in cars require more repairs than gasoline-powered cars across all maintenance categories.
Research shows that pure electric vehicles have an average of 266 problems per 100 vehicles, which is 86 percentage points higher than gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles, which have an average of 180 problems per 100 vehicles. The lower the score, the higher the quality of the vehicle.
Top concerns include functionality, controls and display, and wireless smartphone integration, as customers report frequent difficulties apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The study also reported dissatisfaction with false warnings, unnecessary traffic alerts and automatic braking features. Specifically, Rear Seat Alert has an issue rate of 1.7 per 100 vehicles across the industry, as owners report receiving the signal even when no one is in the back seat.
“It’s no surprise that the introduction of new technologies has challenged manufacturers to maintain vehicle quality,” Hanley said.
—CNBC’s Michael Wayland contributed to this report.
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