Dealers and owners are expressing disaffection with electric vehicles (EV).
In the Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index (CDSI) poll released earlier this month, a majority of dealers say sales are worse than they were a year ago.
That was followed by a J.D. Powers survey that revealed owners of non-Tesla EVs experience recalls slightly more than twice as often as do owners of gas-powered vehicles.
In the CDSI, the index score for EV sales in 2024 Q1 dropped to 42, the lowest score since the question was added in the second quarter of 2021. The latest index score was down from 48 in the previous quarter and lower than the 50 recorded a year ago.
Dealer Outlook Tanks
Additionally, the outlook for EV sales tumbled as the index score decliend six percentage points from last quarter to 36 in Q1— the lowest score again for since the question was added three years ago.
Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive Director of Industry Insights, offered that the drop in dealer sentiment for EVs is understandable considering its place on adoption continuum—shifting from early-adopter buyers to mainstream.
“In 2024, the Cox Automotive team expects the industry to fully acknowledge the fact that the average consumer needs to be convinced on the merits of going electric, and many won’t be easily persuaded,” said Valdez Streaty in a statement. “The EV market is likely to see a rise in the number of models, incentives, discounting, and advertising. However, selling more EVs will require more effort on the part of dealers.”
EV Owners Unhappy
But a major headwind could be the word-of-mouth from current owners.
In the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, non-Tesla EV owners are the least satisfied when it comes to service. Besides experiencing recalls at slightly more than twice as often as do owners of gas-powered vehicles, overall service satisfaction with recall work is 782 among these affected owners—50 points lower than among owners of gas-powered vehicles (832).
In fact, non-Tesla BEV owners have the lowest satisfaction with recall work across all other major vehicle categories, including diesel (831), hybrids (827) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (821).
“Underwhelming” Service
Those stats lead Chris Sutton, vice president of automotive retail at J.D. Power, to describe the service experience for non-Tesla EV owners as “underwhelming.”
“As sales of EVs continue to grow and the industry moves out of the early-adopter phase, the typical owner will not be as willing to tolerate a less-than-stellar service and ownership experience,” said Sutton.
Contributing to the poor service experience is a notable lack of trust with servicing dealers to perform complex repairs and provide useful guidance. Overall dealer trust among non-Tesla EV owners is 5.62 (on a 7-point scale) but jumps to 6.00 among owners of gas-powered vehicles owners and 5.74 among plug-in hybrid owners.
“On the manufacturer side, a higher rate of BEV recalls is contributing to an inconsistent experience,” said Sutton. “This is an area that automakers and dealers need to address now to help make the transition to electrification as pain-free as possible for owners in the future.”