The annual JD Power Original Quality Research shows that a reduce the quality of new cars still exists in the industry. For the third year in a row, owners are reporting more and more problems with their new cars, stemming from the introduction of new features and technology, according to the report. Electric JD. In fact, the quality of vehicles has become so bad that automakers used to be at the top of the rankings, like Toyotahave now slid down and given their place to avoid, Beat And Alfa Romeo.
Electric JD speak that new features in an automobile, or more features, in general, are responsible for the deterioration in quality; The idea is that the more devices there are in a given model, the more likely it is that the device will fail or fail to meet the new owner’s expectations.
There are a lot of little things that contribute to these new auto quality woes, but they’re not so much “small things” as the ones the industry seems to have figured out: things like door knob, which some new EVs just can’t seem to get right. Or other “basic things” like wireless charging pads that are said to not work as expected, according to JD Power report:
“The auto industry is facing many quality problems, a phenomenon not seen in IQS’s 37-year history,” he said. Frank Hanley, senior director of automotive benchmarking at JD Power. “The industry is at a major crossroads and the path each manufacturer chooses is paramount for its future. From persistent problems that lingered many years ago to the proliferation of new types of problems, today’s new vehicles are more complex—providing new and exciting technology—but not always satisfying. Owner.”
The Original Quality Study ranks automakers by the number of owner-reported problems per 100 vehicles. These issues include everything from infotainment to controls and displays, to driver assistance features, as well as the car’s new powertrain. The average number of issues reported was 192 this year, up from 180 last year (2022) and 162 the year before (2021).
Toyota didn’t even hit the study average, again, of 192 problems for every 100 vehicles sold. Toyota has 194 problems per 100 vehicles, or one more than its Japanese rival, Mitsubishi, with 193 problems per 100 vehicles.
For reference, although Tesla and Polestar were officially excluded from the study for not meeting the award’s criteria, the two electric vehicle manufacturers experienced 257 and 313 problems per 100 vehicles, respectively. This is much higher than the average number of problems for the study, and in the case of Tesla (257), more than 100 problems bigger than Dodge (140) – the top automaker on this year’s list.
You could say that Alfa Romeo had something to stand out this year, having dropped to 143 problems per 100 vehicles, 68 fewer problems than last year. Alfa’s improvements are so pronounced that it topped the charts among premium automakers for the first time. Congratulations, Alpha.
If you’re seeing a pattern here, you’re not alone. The parent company Stellantis is said to be able to improve its personal brands like Dodge and Alfa because many models are the same as last year and has had time to improve. It seems easier to iterate on a design than to introduce an entirely new one, which is what has led many major automakers to launch newly designed models. Perhaps the lesson to be learned here is that not every new car needs to be equipped with technology, nor should the price appropriately reflect this. Probably, don’t fix it if it’s not broken. The door handle was definitely not broken until recently.
