J.D. Power: Chinese car brands are closing the gap with international brands in quality

The Chinese automotive industry has made significant progress in the past decade or so, as reflected in the findings of the J.D. Power 2021 China Vehicle Dependability Study.

The study measures the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the past six months by owners of 13- to 48-month-old vehicles. A lower score reflects higher quality.

The study covers 177 specific problems grouped into eight major vehicle categories:

• Vehicle exterior
• Vehicle interior
• Driving experience
• Features
• Infotainment
• Climate control
• Seats
• Powertrain

According to the study, dependability of Chinese domestic brands continues to improve. The gap in vehicle dependability between domestic brands and international mass market brands narrowed to 6 PP100 in 2021 from 9 PP100 in 2020.

Domestic brands improve notably in powertrain, which decreased by 6 percentage points in 2021, compared with 2020.

GAC FCA Jeep is the highest-ranked mass market brand (domestic and international brands included) with 115 PP100. FAW Toyota (125 PP100) ranked second and Dongfeng Peugeot (132 PP100) and FAW Hongqi (132 PP100) ranked third in a tie.

Also read: Hongqi H9 in-depth video, what does this Chinese S-Class rival has to offer?

FAW Hongqi is the highest-ranked Chinese domestic brand with 132 PP100, while WEY (135 PP100) and Soueast (138 PP100) ranked second and third respectively.

Subsequent places from fourth to seventh are taken, in order, by MG (139 PP100), Chery (140 PP100), Lynk & Co (140 PP100), and Geely (141 PP100). These brands achieved above-average score for mass market brands, which is 144 PP100.

Also read: Chinese drivers say Geely isn’t the best in car tech, guess which brand takes first place?

The 2021 study is based on responses from 36,860 vehicle owners who purchased their vehicle between December 2016 and May 2020. It includes 239 models from 49 different brands and was fielded from January 2021 through June 2021 in 70 major cities across China.

Also read: 40 years ago China can’t even CKD a car, how did they overtake Proton and Perodua?