The results of the JD Power 2026 US Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study are out, and while the survey covers the North American market, most of the top-ranking vehicles on the list are already available on Philippine shores, so local buyers might find this relevant.
The study, conducted from August to December 2025, surveyed 5,741 owners of 2025- and 2026-model BEVs and PHEVs, and specifically looked into their overall satisfaction in the first year of EV ownership. For BEVs, there were two categories: premium and mass-market.
In the premium segment, Tesla dominated the standings with the Model 3 and the Model Y taking the top two slots, garnering 804 and 797 points, respectively (based on a 1,000-point scale). Only two other models achieved points higher than the segment average of 786: the BMW i4 (795) and the BMW iX (794).
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In the mass-market segment, meanwhile, the Ford Mustang Mach-E ranked first with 760 points, followed by four Korean models: the Hyundai Ioniq 6 (748), the Kia EV9 (745), the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (743), and the Kia EV6 (743). The Ford F-150 Lightning, with 731 points, is the final model to better the segment average of 727.
Despite a drop in EV sales over the past year, the EVX Ownership Study found that average overall satisfaction among BEV owners is higher in 2026 than in 2025. In the previous study, the segment averages were 756 points for premium BEVs and 725 points for mass-market BEVs. The premium segment also showed more significant quality improvements, with 15.9 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 2026 versus 75.00 PP100 in 2025.
Of note, BEV owners were also more satisfied with their cars compared with owners of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). In the premium category, PHEVs scored 114 fewer points than BEVs, while the gap between the vehicle types was 117 points in the mass-market category. “Although PHEVs benefit from improved battery performance compared with traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles,” reads the JD Power statement, “they still carry the maintenance requirements of an internal combustion engine—cost and service needs that BEVs are able to avoid entirely.”
“EV market share has declined sharply following the discontinuation of the federal tax credit program in September 2025, but that dip belies steadily growing customer satisfaction among owners of new EVs,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at JD Power. “Improvements in battery technology, charging infrastructure, and overall vehicle performance have driven customer satisfaction to its highest level ever.
“What’s more, the vast majority of current EV owners say they will consider purchasing another EV for their next vehicle, regardless of whether they benefited from the now-expired federal tax credit.”
