America's Least Reliable EV - Climate Crisis 247

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Reliability is among the primary reasons people pick a new or used car. Many studies measure this. The leaders are Consumer Reports and JD Power. These rely on polls of thousands of people and cover a large number of individual car operations. EVs are sometimes measured in the studies. However, it is unusual to find surveys that look at EVs alone.

*100 EVs Have Exploded

WhatCar did a study on reliability that covered only EVs. Some of these are cars sold in the UK, and others worldwide. The survey was of its readers and looked at new cars up to five years old. Over 30,000 people participated. “As well as rating each car for the cost of faults and time off the road, we also asked owners to tell us which area of their car was affected by the problem.”

Porsche Taycan

The least reliable car was the Porsche Taycan (2019-present), one of the most expensive EVs in the world. On a scale of one to 100, it had a reliability rating of 76.2%. “More than half (58%) of the Taycans in our survey went wrong, with a range of issues including air-con, drive battery/charging, bodywork and various electrical issues.” The car’s base price is just under $100,000. In the first nine months of 2024, Taycan sales dropped 49% from the same quarter the year before

Mini Electric

The most reliable EV on the list was the Mini Electric (2020-2024), with a reliability score of 98.4%. “Only 5% of the cars reported on in our survey had niggles, and these were restricted to their 12-volt batteries or motor electrics.”

The Mini Electric has a base price of $31,000.