Electric vehicle owners are dissatisfied with their tire wear, and according to the latest survey by J.D Power, the satisfaction gap with original equipment tires between EV owners and gas-powered vehicles is widening.
The J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study shows EV owners are expecting the tires on their EVs to last as long as they do on internal combustion vehicles — despite the heavier weight and higher torque on EVs.
“The widening satisfaction gap between EVs and gas-powered vehicles highlight an opportunity for tire manufacturers and automakers to educate EV owners on the differences in performance,” said Ashley Edgar, senior director of benchmarking and alternative mobility at J.D. Power.
“Additionally, because of the inherit conflict of maximizing vehicle range and optimizing tire wear for EVs, tire manufacturers and automakers need to work together to overcome the challenge without completely sacrificing tire performance in other areas, especially as the EV market continues to increase.”
The expectations of those EV owners came to light during J.D. Power’s annual OE tire study. In that satisfaction study, the company ranks the customer satisfaction of tires in four vehicle categories: luxury, passenger cars, performance sport and truck/utility.
The study measures tire owner satisfaction in four areas: tire ride, tire wear, tire traction/handling and tire appearance.
The 2024 study is based on responses from 31,414 owners of 2022 and 2023 model year vehicles. The responses were gathered from August through December 2023.
In three out of four categories, one tiremaker topped each list. In all categories, the tire brand’s score is based on a 1,000-point scale.
Luxury: In the luxury category, Michelin achieved the highest score with 834 points. The segment average in the segment was 810 points, and both Goodyear (812) and Continental (811) beat that figure. Bridgestone (803) and Pirelli (793) were below the average score.
J.D. Power says the luxury category includes these vehicle types: compact premium car, compact premium SUV, large premium car, midsize premium car, midsize premium SUV, small premium car and small premium SUV.
Passenger car: In this broad category, four tiremakers beat or tied the segment average score of 797: Michelin (823), Goodyear (811), Kumho (799) and Bridgestone (797). Eight additional brands made the rankings: Yokohama (793), Falken and Pirelli (787), Continental and Firestone (786), Hankook (785), Nexen (783) and Toyo (769).
Despite its name, this vehicle category includes a mix of sedans and SUVs: city car, compact car, compact MPV, compact SUV, large car, midsize car, midsize SUV, minivan, small car and small SUV.
Performance sport: This category had the fewest number of brands in its rankings. Michelin (833) was the lone brand to beat the segment average score of 809, while Pirelli (798) and Goodyear (788) both followed.
This category includes four types of “sporty cars”: compact premium, compact, midsize premium and midsize.
Truck/utility: In this category, seven brands topped the segment average score of 781. Falken (818) earned the top spot, followed by BFGoodrich (812), Hankook (804), Michelin (802), Goodyear (789) and Bridgestone and Pirelli (783). Continental (765) and Firestone (725) followed the average score.
The truck/utility score includes large heavy duty pickups, large light duty pickups and midsize pickups, as well as large premium SUVs and large SUVs.
