I would expect vastly different results across different drivetrains, and probably even more differences across shape/size platforms (compact, sedan, truck, van, etc.).
There's a chart "How Electrified Powertrains Compare" which shows "Problems compared to gasoline-powered vehicles." You might be surprised to see that in fact EVs fare significantly worse than ICEs. I'd wager that they're mostly newer designs that naturally have bugs but instead of making modest changes to the car design in a new model, they're making significant/sweeping changes.
Oddly enough they don't state what the problems are. Meanwhile the ADAC (German car club) find that EVs have similar defect rates in components they share with ICE while having less engine issues. Overall, they conclude there is insufficient data for a meaningful statistic at this time:
For example the Mach-e has had issues with contactors welding open during heavy usage and charging as the same part was used between the standard and higher performance model.
I agree with you in principle but I think if you're Consumer Reports and you know much of your audience is very nontechnical (ie, will only have a very surface-level understanding of electric vs hybrid vs ICE) it makes some sense to attempt to distill an entire brand down to a single datapoint.
Many readers aren't savvy and just want to know what dealership to show up at to start asking what they can afford. If brand XYZ has amazing ICE reliability but their EVs are trash, you suddenly need to be a more informed consumer when you get to that dealership. Easier to just rank the companies with a long history of reliability across multiple product segments higher.
> Cars, including sedans, hatchbacks, and wagons, remain the most reliable vehicle type, with an average reliability rating of 57 (on a scale of 0 to 100), followed by SUVs (50) and minivans (45). “Sedans have fallen out of favor with consumers, but as a class they are very reliable,” says Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports. “They often have less of the latest technology and features that can cause problems before the bugs are worked out.” Pickup trucks come in last, with an average reliability rating of 41.
> Pickup trucks come in last, with an average reliability rating of 41
That surprises me because I've browsed a lot of use vehicles and it seems to me like pickups can go to way higher miles than cars. I see a lot of them still run fine with 150,000+ miles
Maybe the owners are more willing to pay for major repairs though since getting a new one is so expensive?
This CR report is about the reliability of new cars over the first year of ownership. The correlation to how many issues there will be 10, 15, 20 years down the line is rather tenuous.
Well, yes but then also newcomers to car design world make tons of design mistakes that seems clever at the start but do bite back later.
For most folks buying a car these days, if they choose EV its not due to environmental concerns, not primarily or secondarily, at least I don't know single one person among EV owners. They just want a reliable car, and 130 years of fine tuning combustion engines can end up more reliable in say 15 years than shiny unproven electric design (single case 1 but I can provide such - my previous bmw e46 vs tesla model s of my colleague, or model 3 of another colleague).
i don't think it's weird, reputation is one of the whole reasons for the existence of brands. If an ICE brand is willing to put their reputation on the line to bring an EV to market, that means something different than if they were to market their EVs under a new brand name.
I would expect vastly different results across different drivetrains, and probably even more differences across shape/size platforms (compact, sedan, truck, van, etc.).