Auto Industry Takes Step Forward in Advancing Quality
5 May 2000
J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Findings: Auto Industry Takes Another Step Forward in Advancing Quality Despite Increasing Production Demands
Toyota, Lexus Models Top Eight of 14 Segments;
NUMMI (car) Receives North American Gold Plant Award
AGOURA HILLS, Calif., May 4 The automotive industry shows
a second consecutive year of quality improvement despite record sales that
have increased production demands, according to the J.D. Power and Associates
2000 Initial Quality Study(SM) released today. The overall industry average
shows a 5 percent reduction in reported problems over last year's results --
the same percentage improvement shown in the 1999 study.
"While increased demands on the assembly process have raised the potential
for problems in new vehicles, manufacturers seem more determined than ever to
deliver vehicles with the best possible quality," said George Owens, manager
of product research at J.D. Power and Associates.
Additionally, many of the redesigned models for the 2000 model year show
fewer problems than their predecessors.
"Historically, redesigned models pose challenges to even the most quality
focused manufacturers," Owens said. "However, 60 percent of the models
redesigned for the 2000 year performed better than the models they replaced,
compared with only 29 percent in 1999. Some of the standouts for 2000 include
the Toyota Avalon and Nissan Maxima."
While many of the models redesigned for 1999 followed the industry trend
of increased problems in their first year of production, these models show
strong improvement in 2000. For example, the Porsche 911 improves 46 percent
and tops its segment, the Honda Odyssey improves 31 percent and ranks in the
top three in the compact van segment and the Acura TL improves 29 percent and
ranks second in the entry luxury segment.
Toyota Motor Corporation captures a total of eight of 14 segment awards in
the study. The Lexus LS 400 continues to set the standard for all models in
initial quality, earning the distinction as the Best Premium Luxury Car for
the fourth year in a row. The Toyota Avalon, Corolla, Land Cruiser, Sienna
and Toyota Tundra each top their segments along with the Lexus ES 300 and
LX 470.
A look at manufacturing plants shows a first-ever Gold Plant Quality Award
for Jaguar with the Browns Lane (car) plant ranking highest among European
plants. Toyota dominates the overall plant results, taking the Worldwide
Platinum Plant Quality Award and sweeping North America with three additional
awards, including a Gold Plant Quality Award for its joint-venture with
General Motors, NUMMI (car). The Kyushu, Japan (car) plant is the recipient
of the Platinum Plant Quality Award for the assembly plant producing vehicles
with the fewest problems of all plants serving U.S. consumers. Toyota's
Georgetown (car) and Cambridge (car) plants receive Silver and Bronze Quality
Awards, respectively.
The Initial Quality Study is based on responses from more than 47,000
purchasers and lessees of new 2000 model-year vehicles and monitors the number
of reported problems consumers experience in the first 90 days of ownership.
The study has been the industry standard benchmark of initial vehicle quality
since 1987 and is based on problems-per-100 vehicles covering 135 specific
problem areas.
J.D. Power and Associates 2000 Initial Quality Study(SM)
Top Three Vehicles Per Segment
Car Segments Truck Segments
Compact Car Compact Pickup
Best: Toyota Corolla Best: Mazda B-Series
Chevrolet Prizm GMC Sonoma
Mitsubishi Mirage Chevrolet S-10 Pickup
Entry Midsize Car Fullsize Pickup
Best: Plymouth Breeze Best: Toyota Tundra
Chevrolet Malibu F-150 Light Duty
Dodge Stratus F-250 Super Duty
Premium Midsize Car Mini Sport Utility Vehicle
Best: Toyota Avalon Best: Honda CR-V
Toyota Camry Toyota RAV4
Nissan Maxima Subaru Forester
Sporty Car Compact Sport Utility Vehicle
Best: Acura Integra Best: Nissan Pathfinder
Honda Prelude Mercury Mountaineer
Dodge Avenger Toyota 4Runner
Entry Luxury Car Fullsize Sport Utility Vehicle
Best: Lexus ES 300 Best: Toyota Land Cruiser
Acura TL Ford Expedition
Infiniti I30 Chevrolet Suburban GMT800
Premium Luxury Car Luxury Sport Utility Vehicle
Best: Lexus LS 400 Best: Lexus LX 470
Acura RL Infiniti QX4
Lexus GS Sedan Lexus RX 300
Sports Car Compact Van
Best: Porsche 911 Best: Toyota Sienna
Honda S2000 Plymouth Voyager
Chevrolet Corvette Honda Odyssey
Source: J.D. Power and Associates 2000 Initial Quality Study(SM)
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release must be accompanied by
a statement identifying J.D. Power and Associates as the publisher and the
J.D. Power and Associates 2000 Initial Quality Study(SM) as the source.
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in
this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the
express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.
J.D. Power and Associates
2000 Initial Quality Study(SM)
2000 Assembly Plant Awards
Based on Vehicles Produced for U.S. Market
Platinum
Award Toyota -- Kyushu, Japan (Car).............80
North NUMMI -- Fremont (Car) -- Gold...................100
America Toyota -- Georgetown (Car) -- Silver....................101
Toyota -- Cambridge (Car) -- Bronze.....................103
Jaguar -- Browns Lane (Car) -- Gold.....................102
Europe Porsche -- Stuttgart (Car) -- Silver.......................105
BMW -- Dingolfing (Car) -- Bronze........................107
Asia Toyota -- Tahara (Car) -- Silver...............89
Honda -- Sayama (Car) -- Bronze..................96
Source: J.D. Power and Associates 2000 Initial Quality Study(SM)
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release must be accompanied by
a statement identifying J.D. Power and Associates as the publisher and the
J.D. Power and Associates 2000 Initial Quality Study(SM) as the source.
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in
this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the
express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.