$AY 4EST $RIVE 4HE INDUSTRY S MOST TRUSTED VALUES ON YOUR PHONE
July 3, 2017
www.usedcarnews.com
New Vehicle Quality Rises Significantly
QUALITY: The Soul was among several Kia vehicles to rank high in their categories in the 2017 J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey. Most manufacturers are performing better than they ever have.
By Jenny King
Rush - Dated Material
DETROIT – It’s time for the annual J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, and while the survey itself continues to challenge its designers, the results were generally welcomed by the auto industry. The number of reported problems per 100 new vehicles in the 2017 Initial Quality Survey was down significantly from a year earlier, to an average of 97 from 105 in 2016. The industry continues to improve, despite vehicles having more and more content, the popular survey shows. “That’s a 7.6 percent improve-
ment,� Dave Sargent, J.D. Power’s vice president for global automotive, told the Automotive Press Association in June. Some 77,400 participants reported on their personal-use 2017 model year vehicles following three months in service. Their responses helped the domestic automakers outperform import competition for only the third time since the IQS was launched back in 1987. The domestics averaged 93 problems per 100 vehicles versus 99 for the imports. Domestics surpassed the imports in 2016 and in 2010. Overall, it was Korean products with the fewest problems, followed
by the domestics, vehicles from Japan and cars from European makers. Kia had the top nameplate ranking with 72 problems per 100. Genesis (77), Porsche (78), Ford (86) and Ram (86) followed. “This was the best ever ranking for Ford in the 31 years of the study,� Sargent said. Fiat was at the bottom of the heap, with a score of 163 per 100 cars. Sargent praised Nissan for maintaining its 10th place, noting that the company had several launches for 2017 and new products don’t always fare well. Mini jumped to 12th position from 27, while Toyota
dropped to 13th from 4th place and Lexus to 15th from 7th place. Toyota problems tended to be in “usability,� an area including audio/ entertainment and function controls, which may confuse new-car owners. Sargent took a brief trip down memory lane, saying that 30 years ago the top 10 brands were exclusively imports, from MercedesBenz and Acura to Subaru and BMW. Sargent agreed that dealership staff assisting consumers at delivery with all the features of a new car is a weak point. Continued on page 12
NO ONLINE FEE Š 2017 ADESA, INC.
JULY 1–31 See back cover for details