• by Tanya Gazdik , Staff Writer, September 12, 2022

This story ran in a previous edition.

It should shock no one that a consumer interested in a battery electric vehicle is probably ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and online shopping.

Unfortunately for automakers, those consumers are less satisfied overall with their website experiences than customers who are shopping for vehicles with an internal combustion engine, according to J.D. Power. 

Fast-loading technical specifications, comparison tools and payment/lease calculators are having a big effect on satisfaction among online shoppers, specifically those researching battery electric vehicles, according to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study, summer edition, released last week.

The study finds an increase in satisfaction when shoppers engage with manufacturer website tools, though BEV shoppers are still less satisfied than non-BEV shoppers.

Luxury brands like Lincoln, Lexus and BMW have a better grasp of consumers demands for website experience, according to the rankings. 

While inventory shortages continue to be a major source of frustration for all car shoppers, vehicle shopping tools have a greater effect on the BEV experience than ever before, says Eric McCready, director of digital solutions at J.D. Power. 

“Consumers don’t want to visit multiple sites when researching a vehicle,” McCready says. “With more than half of BEV shoppers using technical specification tools, there’s an opportunity for manufacturers to boost the shopping experience with tools to cover range, time to charge details, charging locations and calculators that reflect tax credit information and fuel savings.”

The semiannual study measures the usefulness of automotive manufacturer websites during the process of shopping for a new vehicle by examining four key measures, in order of importance: information/content; visual appeal; navigation; and speed.

This wave finds that overall satisfaction averages 711 (on a 1,000-point scale) for the premium segment and 705 for the mass market segment, down 13 and 6 points, respectively, from the previous wave.

Lincoln ranks highest among premium manufacturer websites with a score of 737. Lexus (734) ranks second and BMW (730) ranks third.

Kia ranks highest for the mass market manufacturer website segment with a score of 729. Subaru (724) ranks second and Jeep (721) ranks third.

The U.S. Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study, initially released in 1999, is based on responses from 11,398 new-vehicle shoppers who indicate they will be in the market for a new vehicle within the next 24 months. The study was fielded April through May 2022.