J.D. Power 2009 Initial Quality Study Results: Detroit closes in on Toyota in key quality measure; Lexus leads, Hyundai improves, while Infiniti drops in
(Source: Wall Street Journal, Detroit Free Press, Reuters, Autoblog, JDPower.com)
* Ford, Chevrolet close in on Toyota brand
* Lexus, Porsche rank No. 1 and No. 2 for new car quality
* BMW’s Mini ranks last in J.D. Power survey
New vehicles sold by Chrysler, Ford and GM’s domestic brands have improved in initial quality by an average of 10% compared with 2008, but Toyota Motor Corp. was the star of this year’s study on initial quality from J.D. Power and Associates.
The study was released today at an Automotive Press Association luncheon at the Detroit Athletic Club.
Image Courtesy: J.D Power and Associates via Autoblog
Toyota’s Lexus brand ranked first among all nameplates with 84 problems per 100 vehicles. Toyota also captured 10 segment awards — more than any other corporation in the 2009 study.
Luxury brands captured the top three spots, while Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota were in what amounted to a statistical dead heat further down in the rankings, the survey by J.D. Power and Associates found.
“Have the leading domestic nameplates caught up with Toyota? The answer is almost,” Dave Sargent, vice president for auto research at J.D. Power, told reporters at a briefing in Detroit. The quality gap between the foreign imports and the Detroit auto makers is now the smallest it has ever been, David Sargent, JD Power’s vice president of automotive research, said during a speech at the Automotive Press Association in Detroit. The domestics lagged behind the foreign auto makers by just six points.
The 2009 Initial Quality Study (IQS) provides information gathered from over 80,000 purchasers and lessees of 2009 model-year vehicles. Performance is measured using a “problems per 100 vehicles (PP100)” metric. A lower PP100 score indicates better performance and a higher PP100 score indicates worse performance. The 2009 study covers a total of 228 total problems, and organizes them into the following eight categories:
- Exterior
- The Driving Experience
- Features/Controls/Displays
- Audio/Entertainment/Navigation
- Seats
- HVAC, or Climate Controls
- Interior
- Engine/Transmission
The highlights of the 2009 IQS study (courtesy of J.D. Power & Associates):
- Overall, the industry average for initial quality is 108 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 2009, down from 118 PP100 in 2008. Initial quality for domestic brands has improved to an average of 112 PP100 in 2009 from 124 PP100 in 2008, while import brands have improved to an average of 106 PP100 in 2009 from 114 PP100 in 2008.
- Lexus leads the overall nameplate rankings, averaging 84 PP100. This is the 12th time Lexus has been the highest-ranked brand in the 20 years it has been included in the IQS and the first time since 2005.
- Following in the rankings are Porsche, Cadillac (which moves from 10th rank position in 2008 to third in 2009),Hyundai (improves from 13th rank position in 2008 to fourth in 2009) and Honda, rounding out the top five.
- Toyota Motor Corporation captures 10 segment awards—more than any other automaker in the 2009 study—including five for Lexus, four for Toyota and one forScion. Lexus receives awards for the IS, GS, GX, LSand LX models. The Lexus LX has the fewest quality problems in the industry, with just 52 PP100. Toyota models receiving awards in their respective segments are the 4Runner (in a tie); Sienna; Tundra (in a tie); andYaris.
- Ford receives three awards for the Edge (in a tie); F-150 (in a tie); and Mustang. Garnering two awards each are Nissan (Altima and Z); and Honda (CR-V, in a tie, and Ridgeline).
- Also receiving segment awards are: Chevrolet TrailBlazer (in a tie), Chrysler PT Cruiser (in a tie), GMC Yukon, Hyundai Elantra Sedan, Mercury Sable and Scion tC.
- Suzuki is the most-improved nameplate in the industry this year. A reduction of 49 PP100 moves the Japanese brand from 32nd place in 2008 to ninth place this year. Suzuki is also the most improved nameplate for both Defects/Malfunctions and Design-related problems. Also, Saturn improves by 37 PP100 and Jeep by 30 PP100.
- The Toyota Motor Corporation assembly plant in Higashi-Fuji, Japan, receives the Platinum Plant Quality Award for producing vehicles yielding the fewest defects and malfunctions. Averaging just 29 PP100, the plant produces the Lexus SC 430 and Toyota Corolla. (Plant awards are based solely on average levels of defects and malfunctions and exclude design-related problems.)
- Among North and South American plants, the Honda plant in East Liberty, Ohio, which produces the Civic Sedan, CR-V and Element, achieves the Gold Plant Quality Award.
- In the Europe and Africa region, Daimler’s East London, South Africa, plant, which produces the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, receives the Gold Plant Quality Award.
The results underscored the competitive pressure on the industry at a time when U.S. sales have been driven to 30-year lows and both GM and Chrysler have been forced to rely on federal financing to restructure through bankruptcy.
U.S. automakers have spent heavily in recent years in a bid to close the gap with the Japanese automakers led by Toyota and Honda, which have established a reputation for eliminating flaws from engineering and manufacturing.
This year, GM’s Cadillac brand is the highest ranked domestic nameplate with 91 problems per 100 vehicles. Cadillac is ranked third and moved up from 10th last year.
Ford Motor Co. received the second most segment awards of any automaker with top rankings for its redesigned F-150 pickup, Ford Mustang mid-size sports car, Ford Edge crossover and Mercury Sable full-size sedan.
Brands that do well — typically luxury cars top the list — can use the results to bolster advertising campaigns. The vehicles were evaluated between November through February. “High quality enhances an auto maker’s reputation for reliability which is a critical purchase consideration for many consumers,” Mr. Sargent said.
Boosted by a strong reception for its high-end Genesis sedan, Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) pushed ahead of both Toyota and Honda Motor Co (7267.T) to become the top-ranked mass-market auto brand and No. 4 overall.
Honda ranked No. 5, followed by Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Ford and GM’s Chevrolet.
Click here to read the entire 2009 Initial Quality Study Results.
The declaration that American cars are narrowing the gap is somewhat misleading: While it is true, as a whole, they are making gains — the real numbers that matter to consumers is the individual cars in a particular class. For example, the top three classes of cars are: Truck, Mid-sized sedan, and SUV. Toyota dominates in these classes. Just because Americans can do cars that few people drive better — isn’t exactly the best accomplishment.
I tell all my friends to buy foreign still. And to use the power of competition to get a good price (ignore clever marketing). This is the best process to use when you are ready for a car:
http://excarsalesman.typepad.com/
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The differences between brands in the first 90 days are too small to be meaningful to anyone buying a single car.
Models may vary more, but this report doesn’t include model-level information aside from the segment winners. In most cases, the differences between these winners and key competitors also won’t be larger enough to matter–no one should base their purchase on this report.
For model-level reliability stats that go beyond the first 90 days:
http://www.truedelta.com/car-reliability.php
is this relevant for india. the reason i ask is as the graph doesnt mention anything about FIAT, and recent launches for FIAT India have been the LINEA and the PUNTO. Is someone was interested in buying one of those vehicles what would be the stand w.r.t. this survey for FIAT line of cars in India.