Gas Prices Spur Dissatisfaction in 2022 J.D. Power APEAL Study
Dodge and Porsche once again reign supreme over all other automakers in this study that tracks emotional connections to cars.
J.D. Power tracks all kinds of consumer sentiments about vehicles. While most are rooted in objective experiences, such as its Initial Quality Study and Tech Experience Index, the APEAL study is different. The US Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study tracks emotional attachment and excitement, and the 2022 study has some notable changes over last year.
Rising gas prices may not have changed consumer emotional sentiment toward EVs, but it definitely didn't help gas cars any. According to J.D. Power's press release, gas prices negatively affected owners' opinions of fuel economy and range satisfaction for those who own gas-powered vehicles. This shift also generated a 1-point decline in new-vehicle satisfaction, a metric that hadn't dropped since 2014. EV sentiment is a little lower this year, as well, although J.D. Power says that is due to charge times and driving range, so rising gas prices didn't seem to boost EV sentiment at all.
Like last year, Porsche is the highest-ranked premium brand in the J.D. Power APEAL study, followed by Genesis and Cadillac, respectively. Dodge takes the crown for mass-market automakers, with Ram and GMC right behind it. Jeep is up 7 points overall this year, and Infiniti is up a whopping 24. On the premium side, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar also feature big boosts to their overall scores in 2022.
While mass-market vehicles are getting objectively better, they reflect differently in the study. According to J.D. Power's figures, mass-market automakers actually dropped 4 points on average in 2022, while premium OEMs rose by 8. That widened the gap between the two strata of vehicles from 19 points in 2021 to 31 points this year.
J.D. Power also breaks it down by individual model. Overall, the BMW X6 is the highest-rated individual car, but Hyundai Motor Group has the highest number of single-model awards with seven: Genesis G80, Genesis GV70, Hyundai Palisade, Hyundai Santa Cruz, Kia Carnival, Kia EV6 and Kia K5.
Tesla has been added to the list for the first time in 2022, but since it won't let J.D. Power get access to owner information in certain states, it remains ineligible for awards. But its owners love their cars; in fact, J.D. Power has to remove Tesla's brand-level score when averaging results for all EVs, because that adoration is so intense that it skews the average for all EVs in a major way. However, that could change in the future, as J.D. Power notes that major competitors like the Mercedes-Benz EQS are beginning to surface.
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