EV Satisfaction Hits New Highs, 96% Of Customers Would Buy Again: These Are The Top Models

The end of federal EV tax credits in the U.S. may mean fewer new customers for the sector. While that's the bad news going forward, the good news is that once consumers own an electric vehicle, they have a hard time going back to traditional automobiles.

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Electric Vehicle Customer Satisfaction Hits New Highs

The new annual JD Power 2026 U.S. electric vehicle ownership study reveals that most owners would not consider moving on from the EV sector, with or without the tax credits.

Of the battery-electric vehicle owners surveyed, 96% said they would consider buying or leasing another BEV as their next vehicle.

"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," JD Power Executive Director of the EV Practice Brent Gruber said.

Gruber highlighted improvements in batteries and charging infrastructure, along with overall EV performance, as reasons for the increased customer satisfaction, which was the highest since the survey began.

The survey found that battery electric vehicles had higher customer satisfaction than plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

Top Ranking EV Models

The annual survey uses a 1,000-point scale to rank vehicle models on various items for customer satisfaction. The survey splits vehicles into the premium and mass-market segments.

Here are the top-scoring premium electric vehicles:

• Tesla Model 3: 804
• Tesla Model Y: 797
• BMW i4: 795
• BMV iX: 794
• Cadillac Optiq: 762
• Rivian R1S: 758
• Lucid Air: 740
• Rivian R1T: 739
• Audi Q6 e-tron: 690

The average for the premium segment was 786, up from 756 in last year's survey. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) was the leader with the two highest-ranking models.

BMW (OTC: BMWKY) scored third and fourth place, while models from Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN), Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) and others scored lower than the average.

Here are the top-scoring mass-market electric vehicles:

• Ford Mustang Mach-e: 760
• Hyundai IONIQ 6: 748
• Kia EV 9: 745
• Hyundai IONIQ 5: 743
• Kia EV 6: 743
• F-150 Lightning: 731
• Chevrolet Equinox EV: 722
• Chevrolet Blazer EV: 711
• Honda Prologue: 623

For the mass-market segment, the average was 727, up from 725 in the survey in 2025. Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) had the top-ranked brand with the Mustang Mach-e, but its score came in below the top four premium models and the average score for the premium segment. The company's F-150 Lightning ranked sixth for mass-market EVs with a score of 731.

Further down the list, General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) had several models with the Equinox and Blazer, which scored below the average.

The survey found that Tesla is still among the best in customer satisfaction for EVs in the U.S., especially on the premium side of things.

Photo: Tesla Model 3, courtesy Tesla Inc.