Tesla drops down the rankings to ‘below average quality’ in mainland auto survey as Chinese EV makers move up

Tesla has dropped to ‘below average quality’ while three leading Chinese electric vehicle start-ups are now making ‘top-quality cars’ in their respective segments, according to a new survey, ratcheting up pressure on the global leader in the world’s largest automotive market.

Tesla’s Model 3 ranked third in the midsize battery electric vehicle (BEV) segment, falling behind BYD Co’s Han BEV and Xpeng’s P7, according to the JD Power 2021 China New Energy Vehicle Initial Quality Study released on Thursday. This puts Elon Musk’s firm in the ‘below average quality’ segment, according to the survey.

The survey inspected 50 models from 28 different car brands in 53 cities across the mainland. It was based on responses from 3,976 vehicle owners who bought their cars between September 2020 and March 2021.

This compares with an earlier survey, the auto consulting firm’s 2020 China New Energy Vehicle Experience Index Study published last year, which ranked Tesla’s Shanghai-built sedan in second place behind Nio’s ES6 in the same segment. This survey has now been renamed as the Initial Quality Study, JD Power said.

NIO’s ES6 now ranks highest in China’s luxury BEV segment, the Xpeng’s G3 is the best compact BEV while Li Auto’s Li One secured the top spot in the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), according to the 2021 Initial Quality Study.

“Competition has intensified as more and more automotive brands join the new-energy vehicle (NEV) race,” said Jeff Cai, general manager of auto product practice at JD Power China. “Automotive brands have put more resources into fields such as intelligent and battery technologies in which they have already gained differentiation and first-mover advantages.”