Lexus named US’ most dependable brand, Tesla in bottom five

Lexus has come out top in the latest JD Power Vehicle Dependability survey in North America with the least problems per 100 vehicles made.

Topping the results sheet after placing sixth last year, the winner on that occasion being Kia, the automaker beat-out Hyundai’s luxury division Genesis for the top spot, with Kia dropping to third ahead of General Motors-owned Buick and Chevrolet.

Main findings

Researched over 30 062 vehicles sold since 2020, the survey this year not only showed an overall improvement in fewer problems being recorded, but also the widest gap in 34 years between mass market and premium brands.

As such, identified the following;

• Infotainment systems remain troublesome.
• Component replacements reduced.
• Technology supposed to appeal to all are still outdated.

“It is typical in the automotive industry to roll out concepts and features by putting them in premium vehicles first. A bellwether for mass market brands looking to adopt and implement these technology features into their portfolio is in two of the industry’s preeminent studies,” JD Power’s Senior Director of Benchmarking, Frank Hanley, said in a statement.

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“Connecting insights from the two studies better informs automakers by substantiating trends and showcasing how some automakers are preventing problems from occurring early on and throughout the ownership experience.”

Besides the top five manufacturers, electric vehicle maker Tesla featured for the first time, though according to JD, “because Tesla does not allow J.D. Power access to owner information in the states where that permission is required by law, Tesla vehicles remain ineligible for awards”.

South Africa, take note

Based on the rating of 242 problems per 100 (PP 100) vehicles though – that of Lexus being 133 PP 100 – the EV marque finds itself in the bottom five ahead of Ford (249 PP 100), Audi (252 PP 100), the Blue Oval’s upscale Lincoln division (259 PP 100) and Land Rover that finished bottom with 273 problems per 100 vehicles.

Other noteworthy brands that failed to crack the 186 PP 100 average were Honda (205 PP 100), Porsche (208 PP 100), Volkswagen (216 PP 100) and Mercedes-Benz (240 PP 100).

Those who did include Mitsubishi (167 PP 100), Toyota (168 PP 100), Hyundai (170 PP 100), Nissan (170 PP 100), Mazda (174 PP 100) and BMW (184 PP 100).

An announcement regarding South Africa is likely to be made later this year in the form of the AA Spare Parts Pricing survey.

Additional information from thedrive.com.