The high price of an electric vehicle isn’t the only bump in the road on the way to EV adoption, a new survey shows.
Electric vehicles made between the 2021 and 2023 model years have 79 per cent more reliability problems than internal combustion engine vehicles, according to a survey by Consumer Reports, a non-profit consumer advocacy organization.
The survey includes responses from owners of more than 330,000 vehicles who commented on 20 potential problem areas for vehicles, including everything from oil changes to transmissions to charging. There were so many comments on charging and battery issues that it could be said they are “bedevilling” electrical vehicles, Consumer Reports says.
“Most electric cars today are being manufactured by either legacy automakers that are new to EV technology or by companies like Rivian that are new to making cars,” said Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports.
“It’s not surprising that they’re having growing pains and need some time to work out the bugs.”
Hybrid vehicles were shown to be the most reliable, with 26 per cent fewer problems than conventional vehicles. The least reliable, meanwhile, were plug-in hybrids, with 146 per cent more problems than the conventional baseline.
As the number of EVs being produced increases, more Canadians are buying them. But most Canadians remain wary about the technology.
Charging infrastructure
Marti Sison has been selling cars for 14 years and currently works in sales at a Toronto BMW dealership. The first thing he does when speaking to a client who’s interested in an electric vehicle is ask where they live. If it’s a condo, he makes sure to communicate that charging infrastructure is a major problem.
If you own a home, charging isn’t a problem. But if a client doesn’t have a garage and can’t charge outside their house, Sison recommends clients don’t buy an EV.
“I always tell clients: you need to have a charger at work and a charger at home.”
Tesla has done a great job of building out a reliable charging network, Sison says. But that’s not the same for other EVs.
“The Tesla charging stations are all owned by Tesla, so they’re going to work 100 per cent of the time. If it’s not a Tesla charger, it’s usually an independent operator. The standard is then left to that operator. And sometimes [the charger] doesn’t work,” he said.
“How would you feel as a person who is dependent on that [charging station] to get home and realize, ‘Oh my god, I have to tow my car back to the dealership.’”
In October, BMW announced it would adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard outlet in its cars starting in 2025. This will give BMW owners access to Tesla’s supercharger network.
“There will probably end up being a couple of standards out there,” said Greg Connor, CEO of Boost Media Solutions, a digital media services company for automotive dealers. “But then it’s mostly private companies that are building out these networks. Tesla’s got a huge lead because they’ve already built most of their network.”
Tesla was ranked as the most reliable EV-only brand in Consumer Report’s survey, and is ranked 14th overall across all car brands. Tesla’s cars are “generally reliable,” Consumer Reports says.
But Tesla owners still report a myriad of issues.
“Tesla powertrains are now pretty solid for the most part,” said Steven Elek, head of auto data analytics at Consumer Reports. “But Tesla owners report a lot of build quality issues including irregular paint, broken trim, door handles that don’t work and trunks that don’t close. All of these pull down the brand’s reliability score.”
Manshun Tong bought a 2023 Tesla Model Y in May. Tong says his Model Y has been very reliable when it comes to charging… despite that time he ran over his charger in the driveway.
“I had to buy a new one… these are costs people may have not considered. But charging at supercharger stations has been amazing.”
Servicing his vehicle, however, has been “terrible.”
“There are only three Tesla approved body shops in Ottawa. They’re all backed up. I got in an accident — not my fault — in June. Took until October 24 to get an appointment to replace the doors and some panels.”
He also had two flat tires, something that’s never before happened with his older gas powered cars. Tires on an EV can wear through a lot quicker than a gas-powered car because EVs are considerably heavier, Connor explains.
Weight is also a problem for the service infrastructure.
“Because EVs are so heavy, the car lifts at many of the dealerships aren’t compatible with them. There is an argument out there that the dealerships will not do as well off electric vehicles, because there’s a huge upfront cost to rip out the equipment they currently have,” Connor said.
‘Significant decline’
A J.D. Power report in June found that 66 per cent of Canadians were either somewhat or very unlikely to consider an EV for their next purchase.
“Growing concerns about affordability and infrastructure, both from charging and electrical grid perspectives, have caused a significant decline in the number of consumers who see themselves in the market for an EV anytime soon,” J.D. power said in a news release.
Sison says electric vehicles make up about 10 per cent of sales at his dealership, which is roughly equivalent to the share of EVs sales in the broader market.
Thirteen per cent of all vehicles registered in Canada in the third quarter of this year were electric or plug-in hybrids, according to Standard and Poor’s Canada, a credit rating agency. That’s an increase of almost three per cent since last quarter. But it doesn’t tell the whole story, as supply is considerably outstripping demand, Connor says.
“Inventory is piling up unsold. That’s why the manufacturers are now slowing down production, dealers are unhappy with too many EVs on their lots and it puts downward pressure on both new and used vehicle prices.”
“Inventory from a gas-powered vehicle is still very hard to find out there,” says Connor. “If you want to buy an EV, take your pick. They’re loading up in the dealer lots.”
Editor’s Note: A prior version of this article stated that Tesla uses the Combined Charging System. In fact, Tesla’s cars abide by the North American Charging Standard.
