JD Powers 2008 IQS: Some big surprises !

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 4 June 2008 — Initial quality in the automotive industry has improved significantly in 2008, with substantial gains demonstrated by nearly three-fourths of the 36 ranked nameplates, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) released today.

Overall quality improves to 118 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 2008, down from 125 PP100 in 2007.

“Due to some strong new-vehicle launches, in addition to a continued reduction in the level of defects and malfunctions, overall quality improves by 6 percent in 2008, compared with 2007,” said David Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates.

“This gain is driven not only by strong advances from many of the high-volume brands such as Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, but also by very significant improvements by many other automakers.

This industry-wide improvement is a testament to the effort that automakers are putting into listening to the voice of the customer, and the hard work they have undertaken to integrate that feedback to design, engineer and manufacture better-quality vehicles.

From working closely with the industry, we see the importance that is placed on initial quality. Vehicle manufacturers and consumers alike are reaping the rewards of this effort.”

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The study finds that 86 percent of the overall improvement is due to advances in eliminating defects and malfunctions.

Minimizing design problems remains a major challenge for the industry, particularly since new technology, such as navigation and entertainment devices, is becoming increasingly common in today’s new vehicles.

“As consumer demand for new and more advanced wireless communication, navigation and audio technology continues to grow, manufacturers face challenges related to how well these systems are integrated into their vehicles,” said Sargent.

“In particular, issues with difficult-to-use audio and entertainment controls and voice command recognition failure are among the top ten problems most frequently reported by customers.

Since hands-free communication for drivers will become a mandate in more and more areas throughout the U.S., this will need to be an area of continued focus for automakers.”

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2008 IQS Ranking Highlights

Honda models capture three segment awards—more than any other nameplate in the 2008 study—for the Civic, CR-V and Fit.

Garnering two segment awards each are:

Chevrolet: Malibu and Silverado LD

Dodge: Dakota and Durango

Infiniti: EX-Series and M-Series

Lexus: LS and RX

Mercedes-Benz: CLK-Class and E-Class

Porsche 911 - which has the fewest quality problems in the industry, with just 67 problems per 100 vehicles.

Ford E-Series,

Lincoln Navigator,

Mazda MX-5 Miata,

Pontiac Grand Prix Sedan

Toyota Sequoia.

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“In past years, automakers have frequently struggled to achieve very high initial quality with new models,” said Sargent.


“With product launches and redesigns often being problematic for manufacturers from a quality standpoint,

it is particularly impressive that the Chevrolet Malibu and Infiniti EX-Series achieve such high levels of quality that they receive awards in their launch year.” :yup:

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For a third consecutive year, Porsche tops the overall nameplate rankings, averaging 87 PP100.

Following in the rankings are

Infiniti - which improves from 9th rank position in 2007

Lexus,

Mercedes-Benz

Toyota

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Audi posts the largest improvement in ranking, moving from 26th place in 2007 to 10th in 2008.

“Porsche continues its steady improvement and has succeeded in distancing itself from the second-ranked nameplate to a greater degree in 2008—by a gap of 11 PP100—compared with 3 PP100 in 2007,” said Sargent.

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Assembly Plant Awards
The Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, receives the Platinum Plant Quality Award for producing vehicles yielding the fewest defects and malfunctions. Averaging just 33 PP100, the plant produces the Mercedes-Benz CL-Class, CLS-Class, E-Class Sedan, E-Class Wagon and S-Class. Plant awards are based solely on defect and malfunction counts.

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Highest Ranked: Lexus LS

Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Cadillac DTS (GM)


Midsize Car ( NO CAMRY, NO ACCORD ! )
Highest Ranked: Chevrolet Malibu (GM):
Mitsubishi Galant
Ford Fusion (FORD)

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