Electric Vehicle Owners Say They Don’t Get Great Service
The latest J.D. Power U.S. Customer Service Index Study found Lexus to be the top overall and premium brand, with Buick leading mainstream automakers, but not all vehicles are created equal.
Overall, satisfaction was up slightly this year as the industry recovers from recent supply chain an staffing issues, with the overall score rising from 847 to 851 on a 1000-point scale.
The study, which considers a number of factors that include how long it takes to get an appointment, the quality of the service and the help provided by staff, found that electric vehicle owners are having the roughest time.
Recall work is partly to blame, as EVs — excluding Teslas — have more than twice as many recalls as other vehicle types and the service isn’t as satisfactory. Electric vehicle recall service was rated at 782. That compares to 821 for plug-in hybrids, 827 for hybrids, 831 for diesels and 832 for conventional gas-powered vehicles.
LEXUS AND TOYOTA BEAT BUICK IN 2024 J.D. POWER DEPENDABILITY STUDY WHILE EVS FALTER
This also had a drag on dealer trust, which was rated 5.62 on a 7.00-point scale for non-Tesla EVs, 5.74 for plug-in hybrids and 6.00 for gas-powered vehicles, with EV owners noting that they aren’t confident in guidance they receive.
Tesla is not included in the study because it doesn’t share all of the required data with J.D. Power., but it was hit with several major recalls last year, many of which were addressed through over-the-air software updates that did not require a service center visit.
“It’s encouraging to see an improvement in service satisfaction but, unfortunately, the capacity and wait time issues have gotten progressively worse since the pandemic and show no immediate signs of easing up,” said Chris Sutton, vice president of automotive retail at J.D. Power.
“Excluding Tesla owners, the service experience for BEV owners is underwhelming. As sales of BEVs continue to grow and the industry moves out of the early-adopter phase, the typical owner will not be as willing to tolerate a less-than-stellar service and ownership experience.”
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Lexus scored 897 and was followed by Porsche at 894 and Cadillac at 883 on the premium list, while Buick’s 887 score led Mini’s 884 and Subaru’s 887 in the mainstream category. Genesis at 812 and Ram at 810 were at the bottom of those segments.
Among model types, Mini was tops in mainstream cars, Buick in mainstream SUVs and Minivans, Porsche in premium cars and Lexus in premium SUVs.
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Nissan led the truck list with a score of 873 ahead of Chevrolet at 856 and Toyota at 855.
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