Electric vehicle owners expressed a rise in overall satisfaction with their ownership experience, just the opposite of what they told J.D. Power last year for the 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study. The results appear to mirror the rise in EV sales in 2024.
BMW iX scored the highest among luxury EVs in J.D. Power’s latest EV experience ownership study.
The latest study reveals that EV buyers were happier this year with their ownership experience in 2024 than they were in 2023 and there were a few reasons for it: education, quality and charging infrastructure.
The rise in satisfaction comes as full-year sales data collected by Power as well as Cox Automotive shows EVs comprised 9.1% of market share last year, which is up from 8.4% in 2023. The increase can be attributed to more mainstream — i.e. lower priced or non-luxury — EVs being available as well as having a full year of federal tax credits courtesy of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Power officials noted that double the amount of owners indicated they received a federal tax credit/rebate last year, and more than half of BEV buyers cited tax credits as a reason for purchasing their vehicle.
Educational experience
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 achieved the highest satisfaction score among mass market electric vehicles.
According to Power, 69% of first-time EV buyers received some form of training when they bought their vehicle. Education is important with battery-electrics because they can pose new challenges for those used to driving gas- or diesel-powered cars, trucks and SUVs.
However, there was room for improvement here by dealers. They were good at providing the basics of EV ownership, a more thorough educational experience was desired by many first timers to “optimize” the experience.
The range goes from a high of 46% of first-time buyers who received education on how specific features work to a low of 12% who were provided with education for the total cost to own an EV, officials noted.
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Better experience
As more “mass market” or non-luxury electric vehicles hit the market last year, buyers found they were getting more bang for their buck on the quality front. Owners of the simpler, less fussy machines encountered fewer quality issues than their luxury-driving counterparts. Among the top 10 BEV models with the fewest reported problems in the study, seven are in the mass market segment.
“In both segments, the two highest-ranked models in the index rankings are also the best-performing models in total quality,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power. “This illustrates the important link between vehicle quality and overall ownership satisfaction.”
Additionally, the experience with the nation’s public charging network, which is perhaps the Achilles heel of EV ownership, improved for owners of mass market EVs. Among mass market BEV owners, satisfaction is up 86 points year over year (396) as infrastructure buildout continues and brands benefit from the opening of the Tesla Supercharger network.
Satisfaction with public charger availability is highest among owners of premium BEVs (551). Those are based on a 1,000-point scale, so still well below ideal.
What they liked best
When it comes to actual vehicles, the BMW iX ranks highest overall and highest in the premium BEV segment with a score of 790. BMW i4 (783) ranks second and Rivian R1S (770) ranks third.
Hyundai Ioniq 6 ranks highest in the mass market BEV segment with a score of 751. Kia EV6 (743) ranks second and Chevrolet Equinox EV (737) ranks third. Satisfaction among owners of premium BEVs averages 756, while satisfaction among owners of mass market BEVs averages 725.
This year’s data confirmed what previous year’s results showed: once you buy an electric vehicle, you’ll keep buying them. Overall, 94% of BEV owners are likely to consider purchasing another BEV for their next vehicle, a rate that is also matched by first-time buyers. That number has sat between 94% and 97% for the past several years, Power officials noted.
This year’s study also found that only 12% of EV owners are likely to consider replacing their EV with an internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered vehicle during their next purchase.
“With five years of conducting this study and surveying thousands of EV owners, it’s apparent that once consumers enter the EV fold, they’re highly likely to remain committed to the technology,” Gruber said.
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