Quality of new vehicles up in Kingdom: study
The initial quality of new vehicles manufactured in Thailand has improved for the third consecutive year, says the Thailand Initial Quality Study (IQS) 2006 issued yesterday by JD Power Asia Pacific.
Now in its seventh year, the annual study asks owners of new vehicles about quality in the first two to six months of ownership. The study measures 135 problem symptoms covering nine vehicle systems: ride/handling/braking; features/controls; seats; heating, ventilation and cooling; sound system; vehicle exterior; vehicle interior; engine; and transmission. Overall performance is summarised by problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting better quality performance. The latest research was based on an evaluation of 3,413 owners who purchased their new vehicles from between January and July. The study included 49 different passenger-car, pickup and utility-vehicle models covering 10 different makes. Fieldwork for the study was conducted between July and September. Steven Kaiser, senior country manager at JD Power Asia Pacific, said that for automotive companies with manufacturing operations in Thailand, there was a shared conviction to produce vehicles that met or exceeded global quality standards. He said initial vehicle quality in Thailand had improved each year since 2003. Considering that the vast majority of new vehicles sold in Thailand are manufactured locally, this trend is a testament to the progress made by the country's automotive industry. "Consumers in Thailand are the chief beneficiaries of this, owning vehicles that are produced to increasingly high standards," he said. The study reported an industry average of 216 PP100 this year, a 14-per-cent improvement from 2003. At the industry level, the largest initial quality gains were registered in the areas of vehicle exterior (improving 8 PP100) and seats (up 6 PP100). Toyota swept the model rankings in all five award segments. The Toyota Yaris ranked highest in the mid-sized passenger-car segment, followed by the Honda Jazz and Honda City ZX. The Toyota Corolla Altis ranked highest in the mid-sized passenger-car segment, followed by the Mitsubishi Lancer and Honda Civic. In the single-cab pickup segment, Toyota Hilux Vigo ranked highest, followed by the Nissan Frontier and Mitsubishi Triton. Among extended-cab pickups, Toyota Hilux Vigo Prerunner ranked highest, followed by a tie between the Mazda BT-50 and the Nissan Frontier. The Toyota Hilux Vigo also recorded the fewest problems in the double-cab pickup segment, followed by the Chevrolet Colorado and Isuzu D-Max Cab-4. The Nation
|
