J.D. Power Bought by XIO Group; Deal Appears to Have High Initial Quality

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

J.D. Power and Associates is planning to put more of your possessions under the microscope, now that they’ve taken on new ownership in a deal worth $1.1 billion.

Best known for its vehicle quality ratings, J.D. Power, a unit of McGraw Hill Financial Inc., was snapped up yesterday by London-based XIO Group, according to Reuters (via Automotive News).

The investment firm muscled out a competing private equity firm to land the cash deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. XIO Group has a strong footprint in China, where it is linked to many high-powered investors.

McGraw Hill Financial announced last October that it was hunting for strategic alternatives for J.D. Power.

The deal doesn’t change what J.D. Power has become famous for. The marketing information services firm, founded in 1968 by James David Power III, will continue with its quality and dependability rankings while branching out into other fields.

“We are thrilled that XIO Group recognizes the value of the J.D. Power brand and is committed to maintaining our core brand identity and values while helping us grow and expand,” said Fin O’Neill, president of J.D. Power, in a statement. “We believe this next chapter will allow us to increase our insights across a broader spectrum of consumer interaction, a more extensive global footprint and an increasingly digital, connected and mobile society.”

J.D. Power launched its automotive customer satisfaction index (CSI) study in 1981, followed by the initial quality study (IQS) in 1987. Besides turning a profit, topping a J.D. Power list has become the achievement that every automaker strives for.

[Image: Moto “Club4AG” Miwa/ Flickr ( CC BY 2.0)]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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 16 comments
  • HANDS UP if you are one of the people who actually buy products for yourself based around what "they" say.... *my hand isn't up*

    • See 8 previous
    • Tonycd Tonycd on Apr 18, 2016

      @heavy handle heavy, Nissan isn't a blue chip brand in incidence-of-defects terms, not at all comparable with the makes that are still Japanese-owned, and hasn't been for a long time. This is more an indictment of Nissan for having fallen all the way to the depths of Fiatsler than it is an indication that there isn't a quality gap anymore. Yeah, the gap is smaller than it used to be, but Nissan is now on the wrong side of it. (Why yes, I am an embittered ex-4DSC owner. Why do you ask?)

  • Flybrian Flybrian on Apr 16, 2016

    2017 JD Power Rankings Dongfend Golden Breaking Wind Chery QQLOLORLY BYD G69 1984 VW Quantum

    • Porschespeed Porschespeed on Apr 17, 2016

      That's the reality, the proles will not see it, despite it happening before their eyes. Because someone told them it wasn't true, and believing in facts is "raciss"...

  • Fred Fred on Apr 16, 2016

    Every dealer I went to had some of those plastic JD Power trophies for us gullible customers to see.

    • See 1 previous
    • MBella MBella on Apr 17, 2016

      @Robert.Walter It's a very good business. They pull in so much money for their "consulting" just so dealers and manufacturers can put those trophies up. It's an excellent scam, that I'm surprised the Internet age hasn't eliminated.

  • Laserwizard Laserwizard on Apr 18, 2016

    ChungWongLeeFu Motors will be the highest rated automobile company ever once this takes place. Toyoduh and Honduh will be at the bottom and North Korean Motors, KimJungUnhung, will be given the benefit of the doubt so as not to caue them to go nuclear.

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