[RahulNagaraj]

According to a new study, electric vehicles are far less reliable than conventional ICE-powered models.

The study is said to have taken into account over 3,30,000 vehicles ranging from 2000 - 2024 model years. As per the results, on average, EVs are 79% less reliable than ICE-powered vehicles - despite having fewer moving parts and simpler drivetrains. The results also show that plug-in hybrids fare even worse and are 146% more problematic compared to conventional ICE models. However, traditional hybrids were ranked the best - producing 26% fewer problems than even ICE models.



The study states that the technologies arising from the development of EVs are the reason for the low-reliability score. Having said that reliability will improve once the initial kinks are sorted out.

Jake Fisher, Senior Director of Auto Testing, Consumer Reports, stated, "The longer a vehicle or a technology is in production, the more the bugs are worked out." He added, "The automakers that have produced EVs earlier, they're improving the reliability." Stating an example, Fisher suggested that Tesla buyers should buy a Model 3, which has been in production for years & has fixed most of its flaws, compared to the Cybertruck.

Fisher added, "When it comes to reliability, the slow and steady are winning the race. The manufacturers that are making quick moves, those are the ones struggling with some of the new technology."

The results showed that regular hybrids were the most reliable drivetrain type, fairing better than even the ICE-only powertrains.

Opposite to this, the electric truck segment faired the worst, with the likes of the Ford F-150 Lightning & Rivian R1T struggling with batteries, charging, build quality and other functions. This proves that neither legacy automakers nor start-ups are immune to problems that come with EVs.

Source: Consumer Report

Link to Team-BHP news

[Thilak29]

Yes, EVs are less reliable than ICE cars for being new technology and sheer small volume to issues ratio.

Possibly, the same issues existed when people (studies back then) felt horses and animal driven carriages were more reliable than ICE cars.

[rsidd]

EVs hardly existed in 2000 so this is a strange time period for the study. Also, the "reliability" encompasses [for Tesla] "suspension, in-car electronics and general build quality... irregular paint, broken trim, door handles that don’t work, and trunks that don’t close." So it's not just about reliability of the powertrain.

[lordrayden]

To me, the surprising finding is that regular (non-plugin) hybrids are more reliable than ICE vehicles. Always thought that a hybrid power-train adds complexity which could make it just that little less reliable.

[lina]

A large chunk of hybrids are sold by Toyota and Honda. I am pretty sure that is skewing this statistic. These 2 companies generally make reliable cars.

A bulk of the EVs are made by new American or Chinese companies. They will take time before they can match the reliability of a Toyota.

[McLaren Rulez]

Another day, another anti-EV "study".

We should stop publicizing these on the forum.

[GTO]

Not only is the technology new, but many manufacturers are still finding their feet in the EV world. Design, electronics, motors, controllers etc. There are definitely niggles & problems with EVs currently, but that is typical of anything brand new. Things will only get better by the time OEMs get to v2 & v3.

Originally Posted by lordrayden

To me, the surprising finding is that regular (non-plugin) hybrids are more reliable than ICE vehicles.

Take a look at the 2021 sales figures, the top 10 is literally just Toyota & Honda (Ford has now stopped selling sedans & hatchbacks).

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Possibly, the same issues existed when people (studies back then) felt horses and animal driven carriages were more reliable than ICE cars.

Shift from horse driven carriages to cars & shift from landline to smartphone was a major revolution in transport and communication respectively. But shift from ICE to EV is more of a gentle evolution, since both have near-equal number of advantages and disadvantages. From customer point of view, it is more comparable to shift from MT to AT.

Remember that this is "Consumer Reports Study" we are talking about. You can check their background here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Reports

So one should not simply brush aside this report as agenda driven. Instead, if somebody is looking to buy an EV, they should just assign a certain low/medium/high weightage to reliability factor and then decide.

[adiiityaaa]

The fact that "Hybrid vehicles produce 26% fewer problems than the ICE Vehicles" surprises me the most. I always felt Hybrids were the most complex, reason being shifting between ICE power or battery power and battery recharge, but this completely shocked me. If this is the case, Hybrids can be the future instead of pure-EV culture, as EVs are relatively new and need much more R&D, and are unreliable.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Another day, another anti-EV "study".

We should stop publicizing these on the forum.

I disagree. These report are a good way to keep track on how mature the EV market and industry are.

Just because there are likely to various reasons for it, it is no less relevant to understand how EVs compare to ICE cars.

It will be interesting to see how quickly they will catch up.
We have already gone through range anxiety and battery life anxiety. Both are in practical terms becoming non issues. But you would never know unless these type of reports and discussions are ongoing.

Jeroen

[DIY410]

The powertrain the battery mostly have a high warranty period. Motors in particular will outlast humans.

While I haven't read the report, the niggles in EV are the same niggles in electronics. The electronic industry needs to get back to creating or using quality components.

If you open a computer monitor up, you will see that they have cheaped out on capacitors, would it kill them to use a Rs 30 cap which has low ripple and high life vs a Rs 3 cap that has a high ripple effect causing a cascading effect to other components. Its always the little cheap parts that fail and taken down the more expensive components.

Companies don't want the electronics to last long due to planned obsolescence. Why do companies push updates that make old phones and tablet slow or downright not work.

Since there is no profit to made in servicing EV other then changing the gear oil once in a while. They may start using cheap components and force customers to get a AMC or extended warranty.

[PratikPatel]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Remember that this is "Consumer Reports Study" we are talking about. You can check their background here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Reports

So one should not simply brush aside this report as agenda driven. Instead, if somebody is looking to buy an EV, they should just assign a certain low/medium/high weightage to reliability factor and then decide.

Spot on! We have had a CR subscription for 45 years and it’s still the ‘go to’ reference for quality yardsticks. Many a times I feel it’s a pity that we don’t have an organisation of such calibre in India. Any sensible person who wants to research buying a car, home appliance, electronics & consumer goods in US will refer to their reports for the brands & products before making a decision. Even though their reports do not have a direct link to products sold in India, they do provide a reference & insights in to the quality culture of brands and manufacturers.

[Formula1Fan]

IMHO the findings in the report seem to be quite relevant, we are seeing so many reports these days of EV batteries and other issues with EV's. Close relatives who have brought EV's are seeing a lot of issues. On this forum itself there are a lot of reports of owners facing issues and aggravated inconvenience if EV is the primary or the only car. There was also a report few days back stating that globally the EV sales are going down. Although, the running costs are low having some many issues and no peace of mind is a big hurdle, I would prioritize peace of mind any day over low running costs. I wonder how will companies like Tata fair as they are projecting 50% sales in the next 7-10 years, especially since they already have so many issues and the multi fold increase in sales volume would bring more issues, unless there is some technology break through that happens which takes care of all this. Hybrid's on the other seem to be the way ahead, although, we don't have a lot of options in our market right now, some more competition and choices for consumers would be great.

[Joe367]

Not surprising, most EV's are only in their 2nd or 3rd generation. I'm sure it'll match reliability of ice vehicles much faster.

[privin]

In Tata Nexon EV, we are definitely worried about "HV Battery error", which usually got to do with how BMS (battery management system, embedded within battery) reports the available energy. But it is not as if everyone has these problems. When we are part of group/forum, negatve experiences always come to forefront much more quickly. But when surveys are done, I hope there is statistical neutrality. But then, because of nature of surveys, it becomes test of brand vs test of technology in use.

I happened to meet someone recently who has been designing BMS for 10-15 years. He said that vendors are not really doing good quality control and in hurry to deliver products to market, they just use chinese components.

I hope the situation improves over time. Electronics is totally different ball game. And auto majors (except Tesla) have to realize that we now have very different game in hands.