Mexican Media Brands
Kia Tops J.D. Power Initial Quality Ratings
Kia surpassed Porsche to outrank all carmakers in initial quality, according to this year’s J.D. Power Initial Quality Study. It’s the first time since Toyota topped the list 27 years ago that a non-premium brand has led the ratings.
Share
Kia surpassed Porsche to outrank all carmakers in initial quality, according to this year’s J.D. Power Initial Quality Study. It’s the first time since Toyota topped the list 27 years ago that a non-premium brand has led the ratings.
Power's 30-year-old report ranks carmakers and specific models according to the number of flaws reported per 100 vehicles by consumers during the first 90 days of ownership. Lower scores mean higher quality.
This year the industry overall averaged 105 complaints per 100 vehicles, compared with 112 in 2015, the largest year-on-year improvement in seven years. Results were announced today at an Automotive Press Assn. lunch in Detroit.
About two-thirds of the complaints reported for 2016 models involve design and functionality problems rather than mechanical or electrical failures, a reverse of the ratio a decade ago, says Renee Stephens, who headed this year’s analysis. She says consumer dissatisfaction with audio, navigation and connectivity features led all others.
Domestic brands as a group outperformed the combined results of all imported marques this year. That has happened only once before, when the domestics squeaked ahead by one point in 2010. European nameplates had more average complaints than Asian brands.
Power says non-premium brands reported fewer problems per 100 vehicles than did luxury brands (104 compared with 108) for the first time in 10 years.
Among specific carmakers, 21 of the 33 analyzed improved their ratings. Hyundai moved up from fourth to third place. Toyota jumped six positions to fourth. BMW and Chevrolet each gained one level to rank fifth and sixth, respectively. Ford’s relaunched Lincoln brand tied for seventh place with Buick and Lexus. Volkswagen climbed six positions to 12th.
As usual, new-vehicle launches hurt several brands, as a combination of product glitches hiked their complaint ratings. Jaguar plummeted from third last year to 28th. Infiniti dropped from fifth to 13th. Honda sagged from 14th to 21st. Fiat and Smart traded places for the worst ratings in this year’s study.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Engineering the 2019 Jeep Cherokee
The Jeep Cherokee, which was launched in its current manifestation as a model year 2014 vehicle, and which has just undergone a major refresh for MY 2019, is nothing if not a solid success.
-
On Electric Pickups, Flying Taxis, and Auto Industry Transformation
Ford goes for vertical integration, DENSO and Honeywell take to the skies, how suppliers feel about their customers, how vehicle customers feel about shopping, and insights from a software exec
-
Ford Copies Nature
As Nature (yes, capital N Nature) has done a pretty good job of designing things, it is somewhat surprising that Man (ditto) doesn’t follow Nature’s lead more often when it comes to designing objects.
