In J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study This Car Took the Top Spot
GM’s commitment to quality secured subsidiary brands Buick and Chevrolet top rankings in J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study.
Written by Allison Stone
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Amid a
global supply chain crisis
, the quality of new cars is slipping as automotive manufacturers struggle to measure up to pre-pandemic production standards. Read on with
car ownership super app
Jerry as we dive into the rankings, J.D. Power’s survey process, and why Buick, Dodge, and Chevrolet maintained quality while other brands didn’t.How does J.D. Power measure quality?
If you just bought a new car, no amount of test drives can prepare you for what ownership will really feel like.
For the Initial Quality Study, J.D. Power creates rankings based on survey responses from new car buyers or lessees of current model-year vehicles who respond during their first 90 days of ownership. Initial quality is measured by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles.
According to
J.D. Power
, The survey is 223 questions and takes into consideration nine categories: driving assistance, interior, powertrain, seats, driving experience, infotainment, features, controls and displays, exterior, and climate. The 2022 study found that four times as many new models were worse than segment averages.
According to the study, vehicle problems are at a 36-year high, and supply chain disruptions such as semiconductor chip shortages and personnel dislocations are to blame.
Even executives at J.D. Power were surprised by the findings. “I knew we’d have challenges this year due to all the supply chain issues and everything else. I didn’t think it would be our worst year ever. We’ve never seen an 11% deterioration before,” said David Amodeo, director of global automotive, as reported by CNBC.
General Motors tops the list with Buick
While some brands were crushed by the pressure of these shortages, others worked diligently to maintain quality. General Motors stood out among the competition, and its subsidiary brand Buick rose from the 12th spot to first place for initial quality in 2022.
Buick managed to evade many of the issues that other brands faced, namely those with tech integration issues or electric platforms. The brand has been successfully attracting new buyers via a unique approach to what J.D. Power describes as “attainable luxury”.
Duncan Aldred, Global Vice president of Buick and GMC told J.D. Power that an emphasis on quality materials and customer service were key to Buick’s success.
“At Buick, the quality of our materials, world-class manufacturing, and customer-centric design are at the forefront of everything we do,” said Aldred.
The 2022
Chevrolet Corvette
was the highest-ranked vehicle, while eight other GM-produced vehicles rose to the top of their respective segments. GM's plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, even received the Platinum Plant Quality Award with the fewest problems per 100 vehicles produced.
High-tech cars and EVs report more problems
Electric vehicles also on average had more problems than cars and trucks with internal combustion engines.
Car and Driver
reported that, excluding Tesla, fully electric vehicles averaged 240 problems per 100, while plug-in hybrids averaged 239. It’s a staggering difference compared to ICE vehicles, which only averaged 175 problems per 100. Tesla itself came in slightly above the average at 226 problems per 100 vehicles, but newcomer Polestar had a staggering 328 problems per 100, the most of any brand included in the study by a landslide.
In spite of these foreboding results, these issues could in part be due to lingering hesitations from consumers towards electric cars and don’t necessarily speak to the vehicles' long-term reliability.
As eclectic cars become more accepted into the mainstream, new drivers might not have quite as many issues with them initially.
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