BMW and Mini Got High Marks in J.D. Power's New EV Survey

What makes for a satisfied EV driver? For many drivers, finding the right vehicle is only the beginning — there are infrastructural considerations to take into effect as well. Alternately: you can have the best-engineered EV in the world, but if you can’t charge it regularly, it’s unlikely to leave you very happy.

That’s what makes this year’s J.D. Power Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study so interesting. This survey takes into account both vehicles themselves and the overall user experience — and taken in tandem, that offers a very helpful look at the current state of EVs in the United States. Here are three big takeaways from the study:

Good News for Mini, BMW and Rivian

J.D. Power ranked EVs in two categories: Premium and Mass Market. Two automakers took the top three spaces in the Premium category, with the BMW i4 finishing first, followed by Rivian’s R1T and R1S. On the Mass Market side, the electric Mini Cooper finished first, followed by the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Hyundai’s IONIQ 6. This was the electric Mini Cooper’s second consecutive year atop its category.

Charging Infrastructure Still Needs Work

It’s become increasingly clear that widespread EV adoption is as much about having a place to charge them as it is having a wide array of styles available to prospective buyers. It’s also vitally important to keep charging stations working properly and in good condition. Unfortunately, the study suggests that for a lot of drivers, this hasn’t been their experience. J.D. Power found that mass market electric vehicle owners’ satisfaction with the public charging options available to them dropped 32 points from 2023 to 2024. With an administration hostile to EVs in the White House now, the charging situation could get worse before it gets better.

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Premium EVs Had Performance Issues

You might expect the EVs in the Premium category to be better-engineered than their counterparts in the Mass Market realm. Trouble is, that wasn’t what the survey results showed. A significant number of the mass market vehicles being evaluated scored better when evaluated on mechanical problems than the average premium EV.