New energy vehicle startups in China are doing a much better job in terms of technological innovation than established automakers, according to an annual study by JD Power.
On a 1,000-point scale, startups scored 590, higher than the industry average of 504 and 492 for gasoline automakers according to a survey of car owners’ perceptions of technologies to use. board.
Of the NEV startups, China’s Xpeng ranked No. 1 with 615 points, Tesla came in second with 597, and another Chinese startup, Li Auto, followed with 577.
Established automakers lagged behind. Mercedes-Benz had the highest score, 550. They were followed by BMW and Porsche, who scored 534 points.
A total of 32,141 gasoline vehicle owners and 3,976 new energy vehicle owners were surveyed in 70 major cities in China, JD Power said.
It said that 264 gasoline vehicle models of 58 brands and 50 NEV models of 28 brands participated in the survey from December 2020 to May 2021.
The survey focuses on new vehicle owners’ perceptions of 42 on-board technologies, measuring how effectively automakers bring these technologies to market.
The score reflects both the rate of presence of these technologies in vehicles, how much owners like the technologies and how many problems they have using them.
Jeff Cai, general manager of automotive products practice at JD Power China, said that more and more automakers are joining the fray in an effort to stand out.
“The more competitive the field, the more automakers need to dig deeper into demand and user experience.
“By investing resources in the areas where users need the most, while constantly improving the perceived quality and user experience of advanced technologies, brands can gain a good position in the field of new smart vehicles,” he said. Cai.
The survey also found that automakers are becoming cautious about introducing new onboard features. The new feature install rate increased slightly compared to 2020.
That’s likely due to car owners’ complaints about existing ones, with the top three being rear-view camera mirrors, remote parking, and touch ID.
