J.D. Power and Associates is an American-based global marketing information services firm founded in 1968 by James David Power III. The firm conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for industries ranging from cars to marketing and advertising firms. The firm is best known for its customer satisfaction research on new-car quality and long-term dependability. According to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2012 India Initial Quality Study, the incidence of initial quality problems reported by new-vehicle owners in India is slightly higher in 2012 than in 2011, the incidence of problems related to excessive fuel consumption has significantly declined during the past five years.
The study measures problems owners experience with their new vehicle during the first two to six months of ownership and examines more than 200 problem symptoms covering eight vehicle categories like, engine and transmission, vehicle exterior, driving experience, HVAC, features, controls and displays, vehicle interior, seats, and audio, entertainment and navigation. These problems are summarized as the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). Lower PP100 scores indicate a lower rate of problem incidence and higher initial quality.
The study shows a reduction of 23 per cent in the incidence of problems related to excessive fuel consumption during the past five years, which indicates that automakers in India are producing more fuel-efficient vehicles. Overall initial quality in India averages 120 PP100 in 2012, which has increased from 119 PP100 in 2011. The number of owner-reported initial quality problems has remained unchanged across all categories from 2011.
Honda and Toyota each have two models ranking highest in their segments. The Honda City ranks highest in the midsize segment, while the newly launched Honda Brio ranks highest in the premium compact car segment. The Toyota Innova ranks highest in the MUV segment and the Toyota Fortuner ranks highest in the SUV segment. The 2012 India Initial Quality Study is based on evaluations from 8,688 owners who purchased a new vehicle between November 2011 and July 2012. The study includes 94 vehicle models from 16 makes. The study was fielded from May to September 2012 in 25 cities across India.