A consumer report has found that EVs have nearly 80 percent more problems than gas-powered cars.
The report from the American nonprofit, Consumer Reports, found that electric vehicles are generally less reliable than conventional cars.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles didn’t fare much better, whilst standard hybrid cars came out quite well.
All in all, it makes for a compelling case study of working out issues with a developing industry.
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A report indicates that EVs can have 80% more problems than gas cars
EVs are all the rage nowadays.
Not only do we have Tesla dominating in the west, Chinese companies like BYD and Li Auto are also on the rise.
And not only that, but we’ve been hearing a ton about all the benefits that come with going electric.
For a start, it’s seen as the more environmentally friendly option.
But not just that, they’ve also been said to last longer than their gas counterparts – one recent study revealed that the average battery outlives a gas car on US roads.
However, it’s not all good news for the EV industry.
A report from Consumer Reports indicated that electric cars have 80 percent more problems than standard gas cars.
This conclusion was reached through a survey of Consumer Reports’ members about problems they had with their cars in the past year.
This included data on more than 330,000 vehicles made between 2000 and 2023.
EV owners cited issues with their charging systems, in addition to problems with how their car’s body panels fit with interior parts.
Consumer Reports said that EV manufacturers were still learning to make new power systems, and this would improve with time.
“This story is really one of growing pains,” senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports, Jake Fisher, said as reported by CBS News.
“It’s a story of just working out the bugs and the kinks of new technology.”
How did other types of vehicles fare?
The report would have made grim reading for anybody working with Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs).
They have more problems than both conventional cars and electric vehicles.
This is because they combine internal-combustion with an electric drive, meaning there’s more complexity and more chance for things to go wrong.
Of 20 problem areas – from squeaky brakes to charging issues – PHEVs ranked highly on each factor.
Some PHEVs do shine brightly within the report however.
The Toyota RAV4 and Kia Sportage both scored above average on reliability, whilst the BMW X5, Hyundai Tucson, and Ford Escape earned average scores.
It was ordinary hybrid cars that served as a ‘bright spot’ within the report, as they had a quarter fewer problems than gas-powered cars.
It’s normal for an industry to have some teething issues, and electric vehicles are no exception.
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