LS, Camry Win 2013 Initial Quality Study Segments; Toyota Brand Posts Best Ranking Since 2008 TORONTO, ON (June 19,2013) Lexus LS and Toyota Camry won their segments in the 2013 J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS) and the LS again posted the best score of any model in the study. The study measures problems per hundred (pph) reported by consumers surveyed after 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. The study found: LS, the flagship of the Lexus line, had the fewest number of reported problems at 59 pph of any model in the survey. This is the sixth year in a row that LS has had the best score in the industry. Camry improved its IQS ranking from 4th last year to 1st this year with a score of 70 pph. The Toyota brand improved two places to 6th overall, its best overall ranking in the IQS since 2008, and ranked 3rd among non-premium brands (102 pph), close behind GMC (90) and Chevrolet (97). The Lexus brand ranked 2nd among premium brands (94 pph), behind only Porsche (80 pph), but it slipped from 1st to 3rd in the overall rankings. The Scion brand ranked 33rd on the list, down from 26th last year. Scion’s survey results were heavily influenced by the fact that 45 per cent of its sales mix was new models. The majority of the brand’s pph were related to the completely new FR-S sports car, launched on an all-new platform and featuring a new engine and transmission. Similar to most all-new vehicles, the FR-S had some initial quality issues, many of which have already been addressed and fixed by Toyota. We expect the IQS scores to be better next year. It is worth noting that when J.D. Power asked FR-S owners if they would recommend their FR-S to a friend, relative or colleague, almost 98 percent said they would. Overall, the 2013 IQS was redesigned after last year’s study to focus more on new technology, such as Bluetooth and voice recognition. The new survey continues the trend toward greater focus on measuring “difficult to use” rather than actually “broken.” It also has five more questions this year, and some questions were revised to result in the reporting of more problems. For example, last year’s survey in the audio/entertainment section asked one question that could result in one problem being reported while this year the same question offered more options which could result in several problems being reported. The industry overall averaged more problems per hundred this year (113) than last year (104). Three manufacturing plants where Toyota and Lexus products are assembled also earned awards. The Camry assembly line (B) located inside Subaru’s Lafayette, Ind., plant received a Platinum Assembly Line Quality Award – the top award worldwide – for producing models yielding the fewest defects or malfunctions. In 2006, Subaru and Toyota entered into a collaborative agreement that would include Camry production at Subaru of Indiana Automotive. Two Toyota plants in Japan received top awards in the Asia Pacific category. The Yoshiwara plant (Lexus LX and Toyota Land Cruiser) was honored with a Gold Award, while the Kyushu 2 plant (Lexus ES, IS and RX) received a Silver Award.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:52:51 +0000
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