- J.D. Power's 2024 APEAL study shows non-Tesla EVs higher in satisfaction than Teslas
- Buyers of traditional brands' EVs are more satisfied than buyers of gas or PHEV models
- Value-minded mainstream Tesla buyers are more critical than the brand's fans
Tesla appears to be having a much harder time charming EV buyers who are new to the brand, while various EV efforts from mainstream brands are winning over shoppers.
It’s a market turnaround that may have seemed hard to imagine just a couple of years ago: Owners of non-Tesla EVs are more satisfied with their vehicles than Tesla owners are with theirs, according to the annual J.D.Power APEAL study, out Thursday.
But it’s more than just a lead over Tesla. Power says that non-Tesla EVs rank higher in satisfaction than Tesla vehicles, and higher than gasoline and plug-in hybrid models.
APEAL, which stands for Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout, includes responses from 99,144 owners of new 2024-model-year vehicles after 90 days of ownership. As J.D. Power points out, the study has correlated over decades to the resale value of vehicles, so don't hold out for that Tesla in the driveway to become an appreciating asset.
Mainstream brands’ EVs were not resonating as well in recent years, when J.D. Power pointed out that battery electric vehicles from mainstream and non-Tesla brands had underperformed comparable gasoline vehicles in overall satisfaction. But they’ve been gaining. In 2020 and 2021, Tesla (unofficially) topped the study. By last year J.D. Power pointed out that non-Tesla BEVs had closed the gap with gasoline models.
J.D. Power pointed to improved interior storage and better-quality materials as a couple of the reasons traditional full-line automakers are doing better in satisfaction.
“For BEVs, recent launches from traditional manufacturers have surpassed perennial leader Tesla when it comes to owners’ level of emotional attachment and excitement with their new vehicle,” said Frank Hanley, J.D. Power’s senior director of auto benchmarking.
2024 Tesla Model Y. - Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
Tesla needs to impress newbies, not just fans
Part of the issue is that Tesla buyers are diverging into a mix of loyal repeat buyers (the “Tesla fans”) and new “conquest” buyers who jumped from other brands to an EV for the first time, in some cases. And it appears Tesla vehicles aren't impressing the conquest group all that much.
“Their buyer is changing,” Hanley said to Green Car Reports. “At first they had a lot of tech buyers, but obviously with their price change, they’re becoming more mainstream and getting a different buyer type.”
The conquest buyers are now coming from all over, Hanley explained, especially to the Model 3 and the Model Y. A series of Tesla price cuts made those models more obtainable to a wider array of customers.
And the gap in owner satisfaction between those who have previously had a Tesla versus those new to the brand is huge—a bigger gap overall than what spans all premium brands, according to Hanley. For those conquest Tesla buyers, there’s not a single point of criticism, he said; the negative responses relate to nearly all aspects of the vehicle experience.
2025 Porsche Taycan
2024 Kia EV9
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5
Porsche, Kia, Hyundai among top brands for EV appeal
Porsche was the highest-ranked premium brand in this year’s study, and J.D. Power notes that the Porsche Taycan does just as well as Porsche’s other models. Hanley also noted that EVs from BMW, Cadillac, and Genesis all performed above the average. “They’re definitely going in the right direction with their battery electrics,” he said of those brands.
Among mainstream brands, Kia and Hyundai were both in the top five offering multiple EVs, supporting that market appeal with popular models such as the three-row Kia EV9 electric SUV and Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric crossover.
