People love their electric cars—more so than people who drive gas-powered cars love thiers.
Statistically speaking, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) posted the biggest gains in what JD Power calls owner affinity: “While overall APEAL index scores improve(d) across every powertrain type this year, BEVs saw the largest year-over-year increase (+22 points),” JDP said of the study released today. “BEVs outperform internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in nearly every category in APEAL, with the biggest advantage in powertrain satisfaction (+109 points).”
Unlike JD Power’s other satisfaction studies that measure customer satisfaction by counting the number of problems owners have, the APEAL study measures, basically, how happy your new car makes you.
The Initial Quality Study (IQS) tracks defects, malfunctions, and design flaws reported by owners in the first 90 days of ownership; Customer Service Index (CSI) evaluates owner satisfaction with maintenance and repair work at car dealerships; while the APEAL Study measures how much an owner likes driving and living with their new vehicle based on emotional and design features, JDP says.
And APEAL says they love their electric cars.
EV owners love their EVs more than owners of gas-powered cars love theirs.
Now in its 31st year, the APEAL Study measures owners’ “emotional attachment and level of excitement with their new vehicle” after 90 days of ownership, JDP says.
“The APEAL Study asks owners to consider 37 attributes, ranging from the sense of comfort they feel when climbing into the driver’s seat to their exhilaration when they step on the accelerator. The APEAL dataset allows automakers to immediately identify the specific features, driving characteristics and styling cues that are resonating most and helping to drive brand loyalty among new-vehicle buyers.”
And for all that, it is the electric vehicle that wins, by far.
The 2026 US APEAL Study is based on responses from 78,514 owners of new 2026 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study was fielded from June 2025 through May 2026 based on vehicles registered from March 2025 through February 2026.
So next time you spot an electric car on the road, see if the driver’s smiling.
Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed the Blue Oval, all its products and everyone who ever worked there. This was his introduction to objective automotive criticism. He started writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and became editor of a car magazine called, creatively, Auto. He decided Auto should cover Formula 1, sports prototypes and touring cars—no one stopped him! From there he interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show and has been with us ever since.
