According to a recent Consumer Reports study, electric cars have now become less dependable, with almost 80% of such cars having more issues than the ones with traditional internal combustion engines.
According to the consumer group, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have an even worse scorecard, with an average of nearly 150% more issues.
On the other hand, the analysis discovered that standard hybrid cars are a ‘bright spot,’ having roughly 25% fewer issues than gas-powered vehicles.
The most recent vehicle reliability report from Consumer Reports is released while automakers are releasing several new models and consumers can take advantage of a federal tax credit of up to USD 7,500 for buying an electric vehicle.
However, consumers have taken longer than anticipated to adopt EVs, in part because they require additional equipment, like a home electric charging port, and are frequently more expensive to maintain than conventional cars, Consumer Reports noted further.
“This story is one of growing pains. It’s a story of just working out the bugs and the kinks of new technology,” Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports said, while interacting with CBS News.
The results are based on a survey that Consumer Reports members completed regarding issues they had with their cars since 2022. With a few reports concerning new 2024 models, the current report contained data on over 330,000 vehicles manufactured between 2000 and 2023.
The most common complaints from EV owners were related to issues with the charging and battery systems, as well as fit issues between the interior and exterior panels of the cars.
As Electric Vehicle manufacturers continue to learn how to create entirely new power systems, Consumer Reports observed, while noting that the overall reliability of electric vehicles should increase.
However, Consumer Reports pointed out that the persistent worries about dependability would probably compound with worries about increased prices, a lack of charging stations, and lengthy charging times to make many buyers hesitate before making the switch to the technology.
The Consumer Reports survey comes after the publication of the government data, which showed that in the first nine months of 2023, electric vehicle sales went up by nearly 50%, already surpassing the full-year total for 2022. The data also suggested that if American consumers continue to snap up EVs at the current pace, they will easily surpass 1 million annual sales for the first time.