- NIO tops J.D. Power’s 2026 NEV-CSI with 814 points, leading luxury and domestic brands again.
- NEV after-sales satisfaction edged up to 778, but vehicle issues jumped to 46.1%, up 12% year-on-year.
- After-sales revenue per vehicle rose 23.3% while wait times surged 45.6%, pressuring industry NPS.
On Aug. 6, market research firm J.D. Power released its 2026 China New Energy Vehicle Customer Service Index (NEV-CSI) Study.
This marks the second consecutive year the firm has published a dedicated after-sales service study for China’s NEV market.
The report showed overall customer satisfaction with NEV after-sales service reached 778 points out of 1,000 in 2026, up three points from 2025.
Satisfaction during vehicle ownership rose three points, while service-related satisfaction increased four points, indicating an overall improvement in the after-sales experience for NEV owners.
The study surveyed 13,708 vehicle owners who purchased their cars between January 2024 and February 2026, covering 81 major Chinese cities and 56 automotive brands.
It evaluates after-sales service experiences during the first two to 24 months following vehicle delivery.
The evaluation framework covers seven categories: customer service, customer benefits, charging and energy replenishment services, service initiation, reception, service process, and service quality.
Among brand groups, China’s emerging EV brands continued to lead the industry. J.D. Power said the segment recorded an average satisfaction score of 791.
International brands scored 778, up one point year-on-year. Traditional Chinese brands rose three points to 774, while joint-venture brands gained two points to 772.
In the brand rankings, the NIO brand scored 814 points, ranking first among luxury brands while also topping all Chinese domestic brands.
It claimed the highest overall NEV after-sales satisfaction ranking for the second consecutive year.
AITO and Yangwang tied for second with 811 points, followed by Porsche at 809.
Compared with the 2025 rankings, the luxury segment saw notable changes, with Mercedes-Benz, which ranked second in 2025, no longer among the leading brands.
In the mass market segment, Li Auto ranked first with 793 points for NEV after-sales satisfaction and placed fourth among all Chinese domestic brands.
However, higher satisfaction scores do not necessarily indicate the industry has entered a stable phase.
The report found that the incidence of vehicle-related issues among NEV users rose to 46.1% in 2026, up 12% from a year earlier.
The negative impact of vehicle problems on the ownership experience increased to 1.8 times last year’s level.
Accident repair remains a weak point for the industry. According to the report, the average repair cost for damaged NEVs has reached 1.7 times that of internal combustion engine vehicles.
Meanwhile, customer satisfaction after accident repairs is 67 points lower than that for general repair services.
Meanwhile, the NEV after-sales business is facing new operational challenges.
Although average after-sales revenue per vehicle increased 23.3% year-on-year, average customer waiting times rose 45.6%, and the industry’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) has approached a critical pressure point.
Ann Xie, general manager of Automotive Service Solutions at J.D. Power China, said competition in the automotive aftermarket is shifting away from maximizing revenue per repair order toward improving service efficiency and earning long-term customer trust.
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