‘Quality One’ is NOT Just A Saying

On March 15, Autohome, one of the leading automotive platforms in China, released its 2023 Passenger Car New Vehicle Quality Report.

As with previous years, this year's annual report classifies vehicle issues into nine major categories, including body aesthetics, electronic devices, vehicle interiors, driving process, operational functions, air conditioning, seating, and the vehicle transmission system, with over 200 secondary indicators that are evaluated through consumer surveys. These indicators cover faults, abnormal noises, and inconveniences in normal usage, leaving no stone unturned in identifying quality aspects that could affect the consumer driving experience.

The report ranks different automotive brands based on the number of problems that arise per hundred vehicles (PPH), measuring the average number of problems per hundred new cars within a two to twelve-month ownership period. As such, lower PPH value indicates better quality.

This year, the average PPH value for domestically produced new vehicles from global automakers was 172, with 13 automotive brands performing better than this average PPH value.

Among these companies, Lincoln brand had a PPH value of 127, ranking third in global automakers, while Ford brand had a PPH value of 152, tying with Honda for sixth place.

Looking at the industry as a whole, in 2023, 29 brands performed above the average PPH mark, with 15 brands making the list for the third or more consecutive year in a row.

Competition in Chinese automotive market is intensifying with the high frequency of new model releases, so although more companies have met or exceeded the average PPH standard, the overall industry PPH value has also risen compared to 2022 figures.

Notably, Lincoln and Ford have consistently performed well on this list, outperforming the average PPH value for four and eight consecutive years, respectively.

Autohome's New Vehicle Quality Report was first published in 2015 and has since been conducted annually for the past ten years. The report’s results are based on car owner surveys about their vehicle quality experience within the first two to twelve months of ownership. Using the automotive industry's standard calculation methods and criteria to analyze and evaluate vehicle quality, the New Vehicle Quality Report has become an industry benchmark for quality.