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For the choice of new cars, quality must be one of the factors for consumers to consider. A few days ago, J.D. Power released a 2020 study on the quality of new cars in China, which shows that the quality of new cars of mainstream brands has been continuously improved in the past five years, the gap between the quality of new cars of mainstream brands and luxury cars has gradually narrowed, and independent brands have improved year by year.

It is understood that the J.D. Power new car quality research focuses on the quality problems encountered by new car owners with an ownership period of 2-6 months. The new car quality score is reflected in the average number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). The lower the score, the less the number of new car problems and the higher the quality. The survey covers 241 models of 57 brands and 70 major cities in China.

According to the research data, among the mainstream brands, luxury brands and independent brands, the performance of independent brands still lags behind the former. Statistics show that the PP100 score of Chinese car brands is 135, that is, the average number of problems per 100 vehicles is 135. The figure is still significantly higher than the industry average of 127. Mainstream brands have a PP100 score of 128, while luxury cars have a PP100 score of 121 PP100, a gap of 7. In 2019, the PP100 gap between mainstream cars and luxury cars in China is 16. The quality gap between mainstream cars and luxury cars in China is further narrowing.

However, China's indigenous brand recognition has increased by 12 per cent, 9 per cent, 7 per cent and 10 per cent a year since 2015. Among them, the proportion of car owners who choose their own brands because of their good quality or performance has increased from 16% in 2015 to 25% in 2020, accounting for 1/4. The proportion of car owners who choose Chinese car brands because of low prices has also dropped from 12% in 2015 to 6% in 2020, meaning that the consumer market has gradually shifted from price-led to quality-oriented in recent years.

With the development of China's automobile market, more and more domestic independent brands gradually cover various market segments, including low, middle and high end, and different prices have been very comprehensive for different market positioning, so there are a lot of models to choose from in the same price range.

At present, China has entered the peak of the upgrading of trade-in consumption. China's automobile market has entered a period of rapid growth since 2002. after 18 years of rapid growth, it has accumulated a high customer base. With the continuous increase of residents' income, the structure of new consumer groups in the automobile market has also undergone new changes. Therefore, the demand for new cars in pursuit of quality is also increasing.

This performance is particularly prominent in the luxury market. Following the year-on-year decline in China's car market in 2019, the luxury market exceeded 3 million vehicles in the whole year, with a market share exceeding 10% for the first time. With the decline of the car market in 2020 and the impact of the epidemic, luxury brand sales are still against the trend. The luxury car market grew 33% in September from a year earlier, up 5% from July, and its market share remained at an all-time high of about 15%, according to a report by the federation of passengers.

According to J.D. Power's new car quality report this year, only Changan Automobile and Guangzhou Auto Chery appear on the list. Among the mainstream brands, Guangzhou Auto Honda, Guangzhou Auto Fick Jeep and Beijing Hyundai and Changan Ford won the top three seats respectively.

As for luxury brands, the best performer is not Lexus, but Porsche won the first place in new car quality in the luxury market segment. Followed by the Audi brand, Lexus ranked second and third in the luxury car segment in terms of new car quality.

It is understood that this year, J.D. Power research clearly divides the quality problems of new cars into two categories: poor design and malfunction / inoperability. Specific diagnostic problems include 218 problem points in 9 categories (body appearance, body interior, driving experience, configuration / control / dashboard, infotainment system, air conditioning, seats, powertrain and driving assistance).

Among the 20 most untimely problems for consumers this year, the odor and fuel consumption in the car have improved, but complaints about noise and noise problems such as tire noise, engine noise and air-conditioning fan noise continue to increase. Among all the problem areas, the most common ones mentioned by car owners are "unpleasant indoor odor" and "road noise".

Although the current independent brand quality has been significantly improved, the independent brand image has been gradually improved, so that more and more consumers choose independent brands because of quality and quality. But J.D. Power China Automotive Product Manager also said that the gap between independent brands is still obvious, although a few head brands have reached the level of mainstream joint venture brands, but most independent brands are still under the overall industry, so in order to achieve considerable progress and growth, independent brands should improve their quality and core technology.

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