EV startups are struggling with initial quality, and the innovative tech they have pushed the industry to adopt is leading to widespread issues
June 23, 2023 at 13:30
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Over the last two years, the frequency of initial quality issues has risen by 30 problems per 100 vehicles. The automotive industry’s quality troubles are so bad that J.D. Power’s director of auto benchmarking, Frank Hanley, says he’s never seen anything like it.
“The automotive industry is facing a wide range of quality problems, a phenomenon not seen in the 37-year history of the [Initial Quality Study],” said Hanley. “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.”
The average automaker now experiences 192 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), which is 12 more than in 2022, and 30 more than in 2021. Initial quality is so bad, that Dodge, Ram, and Alfa Romeo (140, 141, and 143 PP100, respectively) are now the top ranking brands in America in terms of initial quality. By contrast, last year Ram was below the industry average and Alfa Romeo was the seventh worst-performing brand overall.
Read: High Tech In Luxury Cars Comes With A Reliability Tradeoff, J.D. Power Study Shows
Troublesome findings for EV makers
Although they aren’t officially ranked because their sample sizes were too small, J.D. Power found that EV maker Tesla (257 PP100), Rivian (282 PP100), Polestar (313 PP100), and Lucid (340 PP100) were the worst performing brands in the initial quality survey. Their poor scores may hint at what lies at the heart of this issue.
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A focus on technical innovation over reliability has led to more issues. This has led to more complaints and problems across the board, from bad audio systems, lane departure warnings that glitch out, to an unreliable Android Operating System, and wireless smartphone chargers that can’t be trusted.
And new technology’s foibles aren’t just affecting infotainment systems, they’re even causing problems with very basic things like doors. Newly designed handles in seven of the 10 most popular EVs have been highlighted as a problem by users, the survey found.
Although shoppers are attracted by high-tech features and innovative design, automakers will likely have to focus on quality soon before it becomes too big a problem for buyers to ignore. As Hanley puts it, “The industry is at a major crossroad and the path each manufacturer chooses is paramount for its future.”
