New vehicles sold by Chrysler, Ford and GM’s domestic US brands have improved in initial quality by an average of 10%, compared with 2008, surpassing the 8% rate of improvement by the industry overall, the 2009 JD Power and Associates 2009 initial quality survey showed.
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Toyota luxury brand Lexus led the overall rankings, averaging 84 problems per (PP) 100 followed by Porsche, Cadillac (up from 10th in 2008), Hyundai (up from 13th last year) and Honda.
Suzuki recorded the largest improvement, up from 32nd to ninth in a year.
Overall, the industry average for initial quality was 108 PP100 in 2009, down from 118 PP100 in 2008.
Initial quality for domestic brands improved to 112 PP100 in 2009 from 124 PP100 last year.
“Even in the face of unprecedented challenges, the Detroit automakers are keeping their focus on designing and building high-quality vehicles, which is a precondition for long-term success,” said JD Power automotive research chief David Sargent.
In addition to the marked improvement by domestic automakers, many import brands continued to perform well in 2009, the survey found.
Initial quality for newly launched and redesigned models in 2009 improved compared with previous years, JD Power said.
The Hyundai Genesis, Kia Borrego, Toyota Venza and Volkswagen CC all scored considerably better than their respective segment averages. Many redesigned models in 2009 also showed notable improvement from the previous generation – particularly the Acura TL, Ford F-150, Honda Pilot and Nissan Z.
“Achieving high levels of initial quality in all-new models is one of the greatest challenges for manufacturers,” said Sargent. “Now that more manufacturers are getting their launch quality right straight out of the gate, consumers can expect the quality of new vehicles to continue to rise.”
Toyota received 10 segment awards – the most of any auomaker – and its Lexus LX line has the fewest quality problems in the industry, with just 52 PP100.
Ford received three awards for the Edge, F-150 and Mustang. Nissan (Altima and Z) and Honda (CR-V and Ridgeline) each received two.
The Toyota assembly plant in Higashi-Fuji, Japan, which builds the Lexus SC 430 and Toyota Corolla, received the platinum plant quality award for producing vehicles yielding the fewest defects and malfunctions, averaging just 29 PP100.
Among North and South American plants, the Honda plant in East Liberty, Ohio, which produces the Civic sedan, CR-V and Element, received 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, won a gold award.
The plant, originally opened to serve a protected domestic market, later became the sole sole source of right hand drive C-class and was more recently fully integrated into Daimler’s global factory network, adding left hand drive production as well.
