Tesla Cybertruck faces low electric pickup reliability scores as Toyota and Lexus hybrids rule the rankings

Electric pickups are the least reliable vehicles in Consumer Report's EV category, scoring just 30 points, way less than the 44 points of electric cars or the 43 points of battery-powered SUVs. Looking at gas-powered vehicles, where pickup trucks also scored last in reliability, this may not come as a big surprise, although electric pickups have exhibited problems of different nature, including with the "EV drive system motors, EV charging systems, and EV batteries."

These low reliability scores in the category are something Tesla's Cybertruck, its first electric pickup, will have to face when it goes on sale later today, and may ultimately change them for better or worse. The choice of its stainless steel body material is challenging in terms of panel alignment and requires a different maintenance routine, not to mention the new 800V powertrain and structural 4680 battery pack, so it remains to be seen what problems its owners may end up with in the next Consumer Reports reliability study.

In fact, electric cars, including those from Tesla, sit in the golden middle when it comes to general reliability, no matter if the issue is with the powertrain, or the interior accoutrements. While they have fewer trouble areas than gas-powered cars, seeing as motor and transmission are excluded, EVs often exhibited issues in all of their other categories, resulting in 79% more problems thaн ICE cars.

It is somewhat explicable, given that more electric vehicles of more makes and models have hit the road this year than in any other, and can be chalked off to teething issues present always when an industry is in the growing pains stage of its development.

At the top of the vehicle reliability ranking is one unequivocal category winner - hybrids - which have exhibited 26% less problems than gas-powered cars alone. Needless to say, this might be because a lot of hybrids are made by brands whose general reliability record has always been stellar no matter what type of car they make, mostly hailing from Asia.

Topping the list of most reliable vehicles are the Lexus UX and NX Hybrid, followed by the Toyota Camry Hybrid, Highlander Hybrid, and RAV4 Hybrid. Even the plug-in hybrids from those brands, such as the  Toyota RAV4 Prime, score well in reliability, despite that the PHEV category fared worst with the whopping 146% more problems than ICE vehicles as they carry the most potentially problematic areas.

Tesla's electric cars nailed the 14th place out of the 30 brands for which Consumer Reports has compiled enough reliability data. There are only two non-Asian car brands in the top 10, with Lexus and Toyota simply swapping the first and the second place since last year's vehicle reliability ranking.

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