Renowned research firm J.D. Power found that Porsche, GAC Honda and Chery were the best in their categories in terms of new-car quality in China.

The 2023 China Initial Quality Survey (IQS) of vehicles, including those built in China, is in its 24th year. It continues with the initiative of examining problems experienced by new-vehicle owners within the first two to six months of ownership.

The 2023 study is based on responses from 34,648 owners who purchased their vehicles between June 2022 and March 2023. It covered 230 models from 48 different brands and was fielded from December 2022 through May 2023 in 81 major cities across China.

Overall initial quality is determined by problems cited per 100 vehicles (PP100), with fewer problems indicating higher quality.

Highest-ranked brands and models

Porsche is still at the top of the Chinese New Vehicle Quality survey among the premium brands with 172 PP100, followed by Lexus (178 PP100) and Cadillac (190 PP100).

GAC Honda (186 PP100) is the highest-ranked, mass-market brand for the fourth consecutive year. Dongfeng Honda (187 PP100) ranks second, while Buick and FAW Toyota are tied for third, each with 195 PP100.

Chery is the highest-ranked Chinese domestic brand with 200 PP100. Geely (201 PP100) ranks second and GAC Trumpchi (202 PP100) ranks third.

Quality improves across the board

The latest results showed that the overall initial quality average is 204 PP100 for 2023, which is a notable 9 PP100 fewer than in 2022. 

For 2023, the results showed better vehicle-quality results because of fewer design-related problems, which are now 13 PP100 fewer than last year.

The study also shows that plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) have increased in quality versus their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, with the overall scores for PHEVs and ICE vehicles averaging 194 PP100 and 205 PP100, respectively.  

Notable findings

Some notable findings from the study are that the infotainment systems found in these Chinese-market vehicles have improved in quality.

However, driveability in these vehicles is the main issue, increasing by 1 PP100. 

Regardless if it's an EV, hybrid or ICE vehicle, the top 20 problems for these cars remain the same. These typically revolve around the interior of these vehicles that come with unpleasant interior smells/odors and have bad sound deadening.

The study also found that Korean vehicle owners are less tolerant when it comes to the quality issues with their cars, while Japanese and German car owners are more tolerant of quality problems.

What do you think of Chinese-manufactured vehicles?

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