J.D. POWER

U.S. New-Vehicle Quality Makes Largest Improvement in seven Years, J.D. Power Examine Finds

Kia Ranks Highest among Nameplates, Ending 27-Year Reign for Premium Brands

DETROIT: twenty two June 2016 — New-vehicle quality improves 6%, dual the 3% rate of improvement in two thousand fifteen and the largest increase since 2009, according to the J.D. Power two thousand sixteen U.S. Initial Quality Probe SM (IQS), released today.

The examine, now in its thirty th year, examines problems experienced by vehicle owners during the very first ninety days of ownership. Initial quality is determined by the number of problems experienced per one hundred vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality.

Quality improves across all eight problem categories measured in the investigate, with twenty one of the thirty three brands included in the examine improving their quality in two thousand sixteen and one remaining the same.

“Manufacturers are presently making some of the highest quality products we’ve ever seen,” said Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive quality at J.D. Power. “Tracking our data over the past several years, it has become clear that automakers are listening to the customer, identifying agony points and are focused on continuous improvement. Even as they add more content, including advanced technologies that have had a reputation for causing problems, overall quality resumes to improve.”

Following are some of the study’s key findings:

U.S. Domestic Automakers Demonstrate Strong Improvement: For just the 2nd time in the 30-year history of the explore, U.S. domestic brands collectively have lower problem levels than all their import counterparts combined. All three U.S. domestic automakers post year-over-year quality improvements. The “Detroit Three” achieve a combined average of one hundred three PP100, improving 10% from 2015, which is dual the improvement rate of the import brands at one hundred six PP100. The last time U.S. domestic brands outpaced imports was in 2010, when they held a one PP100 advantage (108 PP100 vs. One hundred nine PP100, respectively).
Non-Premium Brands Have Fewer Problems: For the very first time since 2006, non-premium brands have fewer problems (104 PP100) than premium brands (108 PP100).
High Quality = High Loyalty: Expected reliability remains the most significant consideration when purchasing a fresh vehicle, cited by 49% of owners. J.D. Power has studied consumer behavior from when they purchase or lease their fresh vehicle through when they are back in the market for their next vehicle in order to measure the influence initial quality has on brand loyalty.[1] Among owners who practice no problems with their vehicle in the very first ninety days, 54% stay with the same brand for their next vehicle. Loyalty drops to 50% among owners who practice one problem with their vehicle and to 45% among those who practice three or more problems.

“There is a direct correlation inbetween the number of problems a customer has with their fresh vehicle and the decisions they make when it comes time to purchase or lease their next car or truck,” said Stephens. “While a petite drop in actual loyalty may not sound like much, a percentage point drop in share can mean millions of dollars in lost revenue to an automaker.”

Highest-Ranked Nameplates and Models

Kia ranks highest in initial quality with a score of eighty three PP100, the very first time in twenty seven years that a non-premium brand has topped the rankings. It is also the 2nd consecutive year that Kia, which ranked 2nd in 2015, has led all non-premium makes in initial quality.

Porsche (84 PP100) ranks 2nd among nameplates, followed by Hyundai (92 PP100), Toyota (93 PP100) and BMW (94 PP100).

Chrysler and Jeep are the most improved brands, each reducing the number of problems by twenty eight PP100 from 2015.

General Motors receives seven model-level awards, followed by Toyota Motor Corporation with six and Hyundai Motor Company and Volkswagen AG, each with four.

General Motors models that rank highest in their respective segments are the Buick Cascada; Chevrolet Equinox; Chevrolet Silverado HD; Chevrolet Silverado LD; Chevrolet Spark; Chevrolet Tahoe; and GMC Terrain.
Toyota Motor Corporation models that rank highest in their segment are the Lexus CT; Lexus GS; Scion tC; Toyota Camry; Toyota Corolla; and Toyota Highlander.
Hyundai Motor Company models that rank highest in their segment are the Hyundai Accent; Hyundai Azera; Kia Soul; and Kia Sportage.
Volkswagen AG models that rank highest in their segment are the Audi Q3, Audi TT, Porsche Macan and Porsche 911.

Plant Quality Awards

Toyota Motor Corporation’s Georgetown three (Kentucky) plant, which produces the Lexus ES, and its Kyushu two (Japan) plant, which produces the Lexus ES and Lexus RX, each receive the Platinum Plant Quality Award in a tie for producing models with the fewest defects or malfunctions. Plant quality awards are based solely on defects and malfunctions and exclude design-related problems.

Porsche’s Stuttgart (Germany) plant, which produces the Porsche nine hundred eleven and Porsche Boxster, receives the Gold Plant Quality Award in the Europe/Africa region.

2016 U

2016 U.S. auto sales set a fresh record high, led by SUVs

U.S. consumers bought a record number of fresh cars and trucks in 2016. A repeat spectacle in two thousand seventeen could be a tall order.

Low gas prices, rising employment and low interest rates kept buyers coming to car dealerships last year. There was also the allure of fresh technology — such as backup cameras, automatic emergency braking and Apple CarPlay — and fresh vehicles such as the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, the Honda Civic and the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt.

U.S. vehicle sales totaled 17.55 million, striking 2015’s record of 17.47 million, according to Autodata Corp. It was the seventh consecutive year of year-over-year sales gains, an unprecedented string, said Tom Libby, an analyst with the consulting hard IHS Markit.

That string could be in jeopardy, however. The National Automobile Dealers Assn. expects U.S. sales to drop to 17.1 million vehicles in two thousand seventeen as interest rates and vehicle prices rise. Large numbers of cars coming off leases will hit the used-car market next year, putting pressure on new-car sales. And more buyers are opting for longer loans, so they won’t be returning to dealerships anytime soon.

Political issues could also affect sales. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 35% tariff on vehicles made in Mexico and exported to the U.S., which would affect every major automaker. But he also has promised more spending on infrastructure, which could boost sales of pickup trucks.

“It is the year of unknowns,” said Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst with the car buying site Autotrader.com.

For now, however, the market has plateaued at a high level. Nissan Motor Co.’s U.S. sales rose 5% last year to more than 1.Five million, a company record. The Subaru brand also set a record, with sales up 6% to 615,132. Honda Motor Co.’s sales leaped 3% to more than 1.6 million. Hyundai Motor Co.’s sales rose 2% to 775,005. Ford Motor Co.’s sales were up less than 1% to more than Two.6 million. Fiat Chrysler’s sales were vapid at Two.Two million.

You may have heard about the exotic fresh super-fast, very connected, ultra-luxury electrified car called the FF91.

It’s more than a car, says its maker, Faraday Future: It’s “the very first of a fresh species” that combines green transportation, autonomous mobility and top-flight digital entertainment.

You may have heard about the exotic fresh super-fast, very connected, ultra-luxury electrical car called the FF91.

It’s more than a car, says its maker, Faraday Future: It’s “the very first of a fresh species” that combines green transportation, autonomous mobility and top-flight digital entertainment.

General Motors Co. said its year-over-year sales were down 1.3% to just over three million cars and trucks. That was partly because the company cut back on low-profit sales to rental-car firms. Toyota Motor Corp.’s full-year sales fell 2% to Two.Four million. Volkswagen brands sales dropped 8% to 322,948, hurt by the company’s diesel mileage cheating scandal.

Here are some details of two thousand sixteen sales:

Winners and losers

Ford’s F-Series pickup remained the bestselling vehicle in America in 2016, with 820,799 trucks sold. That’s the equivalent of ninety three trucks sold every hour. The Toyota Camry was the bestselling car, despite a 9.5% drop in sales to 388,618. Jaguar eyed the largest sales increase of any brand, with sales more than doubling compared with two thousand fifteen thanks to its fresh XE sedan. Fiat Chrysler’s Italian brands, Fiat and Alfa Romeo, declined more than 20% each as customers scraped petite cars off their shopping lists in favor of SUVs.

Luxury crown

Mercedes-Benz held on to its title as the top-selling luxury brand. Mercedes sales were up less than 1% to 374,541, edging out BMW and Lexus.

SUV takeover

Toyota’s U.S. sales chief, Bill Fay, said consumers’ shift from cars to SUVs is one of the most dramatic the industry has ever seen. Three years ago, trucks and SUVs represented 50% of the U.S. market. They closed two thousand sixteen at 63% of total sales, and analysts don’t see that switching anytime soon. Boomers and millennials both like the space and the higher rail that SUVs suggest, and improvements in fuel economy make them competitive with cars. The Honda CR-V was the bestselling SUV in the U.S. last year, with sales up 3% to 357,335.

Piling on the deals

Incentive spending reached a record of $Four,000 per vehicle in November before falling a bit in December. Buyers were walking away with thousands of dollars in bonus cash or financing deals. Autotrader said Ford was suggesting as much as $13,000 off its C-Max plug-in hybrid in certain markets in December. But the deals can hurt the industry in the long term, since they harm vehicles’ resale values and automakers’ profits. Automakers, wary of relying too intensely on incentives to stir vehicles, embarked cutting production in the fall. Even with incentives, the average sale price of a vehicle rose to $32,000, a record for December, LMC said.

December to reminisce

Holiday promotions and elevated incentives boosted sales 3% to 1.7 million, Autodata said. But even if sales had been vapid compared with December 2015, two thousand sixteen would have violated a record. Volkswagen’s sales leaped 20% over December 2015, while Subaru sales rose 12%. GM and Nissan both gained 10%. Honda’s sales rose 6% and Toyota’s rose 2%. The Nissan Rogue SUV was one of the month’s starlets, with sales up 53% as an updated version hit the market.

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Credits: Claire Hannah Collins / KTLA / Kirk McKoy / Mel Melcon / Allen J. Schaben

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