J.D.Power: Vehicle Dependability Improved in China, narrowing the gap with other mature markets

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai Nov 27)–J.D.Power says in its latest 2015 China Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) that vehicle dependability has improved this year in China, narrowing the gap with other mature markets. China’s domestic brands have improved prominently with closing-up gap with international brands.

VDS, in its 6th year, measures 202 problems experienced during the past 6 months by owners of vehicles after 37-48 months of ownership, cataloged in 8 fields including engine and transmission; vehicle exterior; driving experience; features/controls/displays; audio/entertainment/navigation; seats; HVAC; and vehicle interiors. Overall dependability is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with lower scores reflecting higher quality.

Key findings:

·Overall Dependability Improves to Mature Market Levels: Overall vehicles dependability witnesses great improvement with PP100 number dropping from 193 in 2014 to 156 in 2015, putting China more in line with other mature market such as US (147 PP100).

·Domestic Brands Show Most Prominent Improvement: Domestic brands improve the most among all brands origins, with PP100 reduction of 48. Besides, the gap between domestic and international brands has continued to narrow, from 43 PP100 in 2014 to 27 PP100 in 2015, with engine and transmission issues accounting three-fifths of this gap, which is 16 PP100.

·Consumer Loyalty relied heavily on Dependability: Owner’s loyalty will be halved when one or more issues occur. 16% car owners who has experienced (at least) a problem and 28% owner who hasn’t will “definitely”recommend the same model; 5% car owners who has experienced (at least) a problem and 10% of those who hasn’t will repurchase from same brands.

·Manufacturing defects Still Exist: Manufacturing defects remain an issue faced Chinese market, despite significant overall improvement. 33% of problems reported are related with manufacture among American owners (the rest are design-related), while 55% of problems reported by Chinese owners are related with manufacture(the rest are design-related).

·Korean models experience fewest problems:Korean brands suffer the fewest number of problems among mass market nameplates, averaging 130 PP100 vs. the mass market average of 160 PP100.

“The significant improvement in overall dependability from last year shows that the massive investments and efforts made in manufacturing in-country are finally paying off,” said Dr. Mei Songlin, vice president and managing director at J.D. Power. “Nevertheless, automakers should continually commit to quality and dependability, as they are extremely critical to customer loyalty. Over the years, automakers have provided an intense focus on initial quality, the first 90 days of ownership, but now is the time for automakers to make dependability a priority.”

The study listed 2015 VDS ranking. Brands outperform average are:

MINI：110

VW: 110

Renault: 113

Subaru:117

Beijing Hyundai: 128

Changan Mazda: 133

DongfengYueda Kia: 136

FAW Mazda: 138

Shanghai VW: 140

Tianjin FAW: 141

Guangqi Honda: 142

Skoda: 150

Guangqi Toyota：151

Geely：152

FAW Toyota: 155

FAW VW: 155

Dongfeng Peugeot: 157

Changan Ford: 158

Southeast MITSUBISHI: 158

Buick: 159

Mass Market Average: 160