All three Toyota brands—Toyota, Lexus, and Scion—dominated research firm J.D. Power and Associates dependability study for 2009 model year vehicles.
Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus sat on top of J.D. Power and Associates’ U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) for 2012 with 86 problems per 100 vehicles, or PP100. Adding an additional feather to the luxury brand’s already impressive cap was the Lexus LS having the score of 72, the lowest among all automakers in a context where smaller numbers are better.
The average PP100 for 2012 is 132. After Lexus, the top scoring brands include Porsche (98), Cadillac (104), Toyota (104), Scion (111), Mercedes-Benz (112), Lincoln (116), Ford (124), Buick (125), and Hyundai (125). According to J.D. Power, 25 of the 32 monitored brands saw improvements in their scores from last year while six dropped in ranking (Lincoln, Jaguar, Acura, Infiniti, Kia, and Ram). Overall, all makes, whether domestic, Asian, or European, saw an overall improvement average of 13 percent from 2011.
“Despite facing immense challenges in 2009, automakers placed a keen focus on delivering outstanding levels of quality, which they understood would be essential to their long-term success,” says David Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power and Associates. “Three years later, owners of these models are enjoying unprecedented levels of vehicle dependability and manufacturers are experiencing market recovery. This is good news both for owners—who are holding onto their vehicles for longer than ever—and manufacturers, since perception of quality and dependability is a critical factor in vehicle purchase decisions.”
In the various categories, Toyota vehicles either scored the highest or tied in sub-compact (Toyota Yaris); compact (Toyota Prius); Compact Sporty (Scion tC); entry premium (Lexus ES 350, Lincoln MKZ); compact multi-purpose vehicle (Scion xB); midsized premium crossover/SUV (Lexus RX 350); minivan (Toyota Sienna); and large pickup (Toyota Tundra). Toyota vehicles were also among the top three in midsized cars, large cars, compact crossover/SUV, and midsized crossover/SUV. Says Jim Lentz, President and Chief Operating Officer Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., ” We are extremely pleased that not only did we win awards in eight of the 14 model segments, but that in two segments we finished one-two and made the podium in 12 segments overall.”
Source: JD Power and Associates, Toyota
