EV Owner Satisfaction Hits Record High, Despite Sales Decline

The JD Power EVX 2026 study shows record satisfaction among EV owners, with improvements in charging infrastructure and a lower rate of problems.

The electric vehicle landscape presents a striking contrast: sales have slowed following the expiration of federal tax credits, with a nearly 30% drop in January sales compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, satisfaction among current EV owners reached its highest level ever recorded, according to JD Power in the EVX Ownership 2026 study, released on February 18.

The edition, now in its sixth round, analyzes the first year of EV ownership and measures satisfaction for the premium and mass-market segments, based on a variety of factors ranging from cost and range to public charger availability, reliability, and technology.

5,741 owners of 2025 and 2026 models were surveyed between August and December 2025, covering aspects such as cost, driving experience, range, charger availability, reliability, technology, home charging, and service.

The study indicates that 96% of current owners would consider buying or leasing another battery-powered model.

Key Results

• Premium: average score of 786 on a 1,000-point scale, an increase of 30 points compared to 2025 (756).
• Mass-market: average score of 727, an increase of 2 points compared to 725 in 2025.

Public charger availability was the factor with the greatest improvement in satisfaction in both segments. The adoption of Tesla's North American charging standard has allowed access to the Supercharger network for more vehicles.

Fast charging infrastructure grew 30% in the US in 2025, with approximately 18,000 new DC points, according to Paren.

Among premium owners, charger availability for models such as the Tesla Model 3, Cadillac Optiq, and Lucid Air reached an average of 652 points, an increase of 101 points compared to the previous year.

The Tesla Model 3 was the model with the highest satisfaction among the nine eligible options in the premium segment, scoring 804 points. It is followed by the Model Y with 797 and the BMW i4 with 795.

Among mass-market models, including the Mustang Mach-E, Chevrolet Equinox EV, and Hyundai Ioniq 5, charger availability scored 511 points, an increase of 115 points. The Mach-E leads with 760, followed by the Hyundai IONIQ 6 with 748 and the Kia EV9 with 745.

In addition to higher satisfaction with charging access, there was a reduction in problems among EV drivers, especially among owners of premium brands, with problems per 100 vehicles dropping from 90.9 to 75, the best performance ever recorded in the segment.

Brent Gruber, executive director of JD Power's EV practice, stated that advances in battery technology, charging infrastructure, and overall performance have driven satisfaction to historic levels.

The study also points out that EV owners are more satisfied with their vehicles than plug-in hybrid drivers, especially regarding the cost of ownership. Satisfaction with EV cost of ownership was more than 100 points higher than that of PHEVs.

• In the premium segment, satisfaction with EV cost was 114 points higher than that of PHEVs.
• In the mass-market segment, the difference was 117 points.

It is also observed that plug-in hybrids require maintenance similar to gasoline-powered vehicles, which may have contributed to the lower scores for those models.

And what do you think about the balance between the cost of ownership and charging availability for EVs? Share your opinion in the comments below.