New car quality at an all-time low: Tesla and Polestar losers

Every year, the American research firm JD Power not only publishes an extensive study on the reliability of cars, but it investigates much more. In its annual Initial Quality Study, JD Power investigates the build quality of new cars delivered in the United States. Last year, JD Power concluded in that study that the quality of new cars had reached an all-time low, at least in the United States. This year the results are even less rosy.

JD Power’s researchers track the number of defects that occur in the first 90 days of ownership for all models. An important side note here: not all defects are reported by motorists and not all models you see on the road in the Netherlands come from the same factory as the variants supplied in the United States. That doesn’t make the JD Power study any less interesting. According to the study, the average number of defects in the first three months of ownership was 192 units per 100 cars. Last year, that average number of defects was 12 pieces lower. In 2021 it was even 30 units lower. 93,380 owners or persons participated in the latest quality survey, who drove a car of model year 2023 via a lease construction.

The defects are divided into several categories and include not only a failing light and a broken cover, but also engine failures and problems with passive and active safety systems. More ailments were observed in almost all categories. The number of reported shortcomings has increased, particularly in the field of buttons and displays and infotainment systems. According to JD Power, the cause lies in the advance of advanced and therefore more complex techniques and systems in new cars. “The automotive industry is facing a wide range of quality problems, a phenomenon not seen on this scale in the 37-year history of the IQS,” writes Frank Hanley, senior director of JD Power. “From persistent problems that occurred in the past to an increase in new types of problems, new cars are more complex and offer new technology, but they don’t always make owners happy.”

Winners (Dodge, Ram and… Alfa Romeo!)

Like last year, it’s not Lexus, Toyota, Porsche, Kia or Hyundai that excel in few flaws. With an average of ‘only’ 140 reported defects per 100 cars, Dodge can call itself the absolute king of quality according to this survey. In second place we find Ram with 141 defects per 100 cars. Third place is for Alfa Romeo with 143 ailments. It is possible that these brands are not yet at the forefront when it comes to the application of new technologies. Applying further developed and therefore proven technology certainly has its advantages.

Buick (162 defects), Chevrolet (166), GMC (167), Porsche (167), Cadillac (170), Kia (170) and Lexus make the Top 10 brands with the lowest number of reported problems per 100 cars. (171). Brands that score well in the field of reliability – in the long term – such as Toyota, Genesis and Honda respectively note 194, 176 and 190 defects per 100 cars.

Losers

Audi (221 defects), Volkswagen (249), Chrysler (250) and Volvo (250) have the dubious honor of claiming the four lowest spots in the ranking. Just like last year, JD Power removes Polestar and Tesla from the ranking because they do not meet certain research criteria. Polestar and Tesla would not allow JD Power to ask owners questions in certain states. The research agency does say it has enough data to calculate a score for these brands. Those scores are definitely not good. Tesla notes 257 defects per 100 cars and Polestar even 313 units. That would make Tesla and Volvo the two big losers in this study.

Maximum

According to JD Power, the Nissan Maxima is the car with the lowest number of ailments. JD Power also designates class winners. For example, the Kia Rio is labeled as the best-quality ‘small car’, the Kia Forte is the best-scoring compact car and the Audi A3 is the best-scoring premium compact car. Below you can see per category what the highest scoring models are according to JD Power’s research. The classification of models is somewhat special.