New car quality improves in China, says J.D. Power

Overall new vehicle quality in China is improving in 2023 compared with last year, with the greatest improvement in the infotainment system category, according to a J.D. Power study released on Thursday.

The overall initial quality average is 204 problems per 100 vehicles, nine fewer than in 2022, according to the China Initial Quality Study.

The improvement this year is mainly due to the improvement of design-related problems, which is 13 PP100 fewer than last year.

"This year, we are very pleased to see that design-related problems have significantly improved, which illustrates that automakers are carefully listening to the voice of customers and putting effort toward improving their satisfaction," said Elvis Yang, general manager of auto product practice, J.D. Power China.

"Owners' complaints about vehicle quality problems are more diverse and complex now, so automakers need to better understand the needs of owners and improve the quality in a more comprehensive way."

The study, now in its 24th year, measures initial vehicle quality by examining problems experienced by new-vehicle owners within the first two to six months of ownership.

Overall initial quality is determined by problems cited per 100 vehicles, with a lower number of problems indicating higher quality.

This year's study was based on a survey of 34,648 owners who purchased their vehicles between June 2022 and March 2023.

A total of 230 models from 48 different brands were involved in the study from December 2022 through May 2023 in 81 major cities across China.