Korean brands top J.D. Power quality list

monitoring and lane departure warning.

“There’s no question that most automakers are doing a great job of listening to consumers and are producing vehicle quality of the highest caliber,” said Dave Sargent, J.D. Power’s vice president of global automotive, in a news release. “That said, some vehicle owners are still finding problems. As vehicles become more complex and automated, it is critical that consumers have complete confidence in automakers’ ability to deliver fault-free vehicles.”

The results released this week are based on responses to 233 questions from more than 75,700 purchasers and lessees of new 2018 vehicles after 90 days of ownership. The survey was conducted from February to May of this year.

Brands such as Tesla, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Maserati, Smart, Ferrari, Bentley and Rolls Royce were not included in the results because of a limited number of customers or small sample size.

Some highlights from the study results:

• Automotive globalization: Vehicles are now made in 25 countries for the U.S. market, which is 11 more than five years ago.

• Carryover models perform better than launch models, with 90 problems per 100 vehicles compared with 107.

• Most problems are classified as design (62 percent) vs. defect (34 percent) or other (4 percent).

• Ford is the highestranked brand of the Detroit Three, at No. 5 overall with 81 problems per 100. GM’s highest-ranked brand, Chevrolet, ranked No. 6, and Fiat Chrysler’s highestranked brand, Ram, tied with Lexus at 8. Lincoln was 7.

• Mazda earned most improved brand.

• Toyota gets the nod for the factory that produces vehicles with the fewest defects or malfunctions. The Yoshiwara plant in Japan builds the Lexus LX and Toyota Land Cruiser. Vehicles with lowest overall problems

(Number represents problems per 100 vehicles) Porsche 911 — 48 Nissan Maxima — 57 Genesis G90 — 60 Hyundai Tucson — 61 Kia Rio — 61 Nissan Altima — 65 Toyota Corolla — 65 Buick Envision — 66 Ford Taurus — 66 BMW 7 Series — 67 Kia Optima — 67

Brand rankings 1. Genesis 2. Kia 3. Hyundai 4. Porsche 5. Ford 6. Chevrolet 7. Lincoln 8. Lexus 8. Ram 10. Nissan (Honda came in 23rd)