J.D. Power and Associates Reports: European Automakers Nearly Tie Asians on New-Vehicle Initial Quality; Domestic Makers Follow

May 2001 -- European automakers show the greatest improvement in overall vehicle quality, nearly tying Asian automakers for producing vehicles sold in the United States with the fewest problems in the first 90 days of ownership, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Initial Quality Study(SM) (IQS). While Asian automakers continue to set the standard, the 2001 study shows Europeans making the greatest strides in vehicle quality improvements, closing the gap on the Asian automakers to just one problem per 100 (PP100) vehicles.

In 2000, the quality gap was 16 PP100. Vehicle quality by domestic automakers trails by a larger margin - 13 PP100 behind Asian manufacturers. The major redesign and launch of the Lexus LS 430 came out as the top-performing model in the 2001 IQS study, with only 58 PP100." In addition to the United States, J.D. Power and Associates also surveys new-vehicle owners in eight other countries: The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, India and China. The 2001 IQS includes a global analysis of customer perceptions about vehicle initial quality across all nine countries. Consumers in various parts of the world have differing expectations of vehicle quality, particularly in areas such as feature performance and vehicle handling.

The global perspective in the 2001 study helps manufacturers make better business decisions and optimize global quality improvement efforts. Some of the most significant changes to the 2001 study are Jaguar's 21 percent reduction in problems since the 2000 study, followed by Jeep, Lexus and Volkswagen, which each improved by approximately 20 percent.

Car models ranking highest in their segment are:

Compact Car: Corolla

Entry Midsize Car: Nissan Altima

Premium Midsize Car: Avalon

Full-Size Car: Chrysler Concorde

Entry Luxury Car: Lexus ES 300

Mid Luxury Car: Saab 9-5

Premium Luxury Car: Lexus LS 430

Sporty Car: Acura Integra

Premium Sports Car: Chevrolet Corvette

Light Truck models ranking highest in their segment are:

Compact Pickup: GMC Sonoma

Full-Size Pickup: Toyota Tundra

Entry SUV: Honda CR-V

Midsize SUV: Nissan Pathfinder

Full-Size SUV: Ford Expedition

Luxury SUV: Lexus RX 300

Compact Van: Toyota Sienna

The study also shows that Toyota plants produce some of the best vehicles in initial quality in the world, with their Kyushu, Japan, car plant leading all other Asian plants and earning the Worldwide Platinum Plant Quality Award. Toyota's Cambridge, Ontario, plant in Canada earns the Gold Plant Quality Award for North/South America, and BMW earns the Gold Plant Quality Award for Europe for its plant in Munich, Germany. The United States is represented by Honda's Marysville, Ohio, plant and by Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky, truck plant, which tie for the Silver Plant Quality Award for manufacturing locations in North/South America. Other Silver Plant Quality Awards include Jaguar's Browns Lane car plant in the U.K., and Toyota's car plant in Tahara, Japan. J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study is considered the automobile industry benchmark of quality for new vehicles.

The study, now in its 15th year, examines the vehicle quality dynamics of 130 cars and 80 light trucks manufactured by 37 different nameplates. Results of the 2001 IQS study are based on more than 54,000 new-vehicle owners and lessees surveyed after 90 days of ownership and cover 135 potential problem symptoms. Consumer-focused highlights from the 2001 Initial Quality Study are available at the J.D. Power Consumer Center.