Surprise: Chinese Still Think Lexus is The Best. But Their Own Brands Are Catching Up
Chinese domestic brands are being outsold by international brands in China. Their quality is suspect even and especially among the Chinese. This may not last. Domestic brands are catching up fast, says J.D. Power.
Says Dr. Mei Songlin, managing director of J.D. Power China:
“Chinese domestic brands outpace the industry quality improvement in 2012. We are seeing remarkable improvements, particularly in the areas of ease in shifting gears with manual transmission, less incidence of brake dust and improved fuel efficiency. Yet despite this historic milestone for Chinese brands as a whole, no domestic nameplate exceeds the industry average in initial quality.”
Indeed on the 2012 Nameplate IQS Ranking, published today, Chinese domestic brands are nowhere to be seen. Apparently in an attempt to let losers keep face, J.D.Power did not publish the names of brands that came in below industry average in the 2012 China Initial Quality Study.
The ranking is topped by Lexus, with a solid lead before Mercedes, BMW and Audi. Best American brand is Buick, followed by Ford. Chevrolet is nowhere to be seen in the brand ranking. The Chevrolet Sail and Buick GL8 made best in class.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
More by Bertel Schmitt
Comments
Join the conversation
It's really inexcusable to have 100+ errors for each 100 cars in 2012.
The German makes will typically come with a chauffeur. I think the numbers are most likely off, as the chauffeur won't be filling out the quality survey.