The study was conducted in the United States and judges the reliability of the vehicles. Reliability means any mechanical problem, but also electronic or related to the plastics and finishes of the car leaving the factory, based in particular on feedback from owners. JD Power’s ranking therefore has its limits, but allows certain trends to be identified.
Electronics undermine reliability
As cars acquire more and more electronic accessories and functionalities, their reliability suffers. Driving assistance, such as lane keeping assistance and collision warning before emergency braking, are the most problematic. In a completely different register, many owners denounce malfunctions of wireless chargers for smartphones, pointing to poor positioning, intermittent charging or overheating of the phone.
Door handles, once purely mechanical and perfectly mastered by manufacturers, are now being reinvented and are accompanied by inconveniences. In addition, 7 of the 10 most problematic vehicles at this level are electric.
Of all the brands present in the ranking, the podium is made up only of manufacturers belonging to the Stellantis group. No French, but the American brands Dodge, RAM and the premium Italian Alfa Romeo occupy the podium and stand out with a respective number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) of 140 PP100, 141 PP100 and 143 PP100, while the average in the United States stands at 192 PP100.
At the very bottom of the ranking are exclusively manufacturers of electric cars. However, they are not officially listed, as some brands do not have sufficient sales volume. Others, like Tesla, have failed to grant required clearances to investigate customers. Thus, we find Tesla (257 PP100), Polestar (313 PP100), Lucid (340 PP100) and Rivian Motors (282 PP100) at the very end of the ranking.
This relative lack of reliability can be explained in particular by the youth of these manufacturers and the lack of expertise, surely the sign of too rapid and complex development. JD Power does not fail to point out that the average (192 PP100) continues to deteriorate from year to year.