The very last Ford Edge rolled off the assembly line at the Oakville Assembly plant in Canada earlier this year, marking the end of the proverbial line for that crossover in North America. Though the Edge L is sold in China, that’s all that remains of the popular model, as Oakville is now being retooled for Ford Super Duty production. Regardless, the Ford Edge continues to rack up accolades, even if it’s no longer sold new in most of the world.
The latest such accolade comes to us from J.D. Power’s 2024 China Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), in which the Ford Edge was named as the top large SUV on the market, beating out the second-place Honda Avancier and the third-place Toyota Highlander. Notably, the Edge brought home this same honor back in 2022, and Ford’s joint-venture with Changan Automobile – Changan Ford – also managed to finish third in this year’s China VDS after coming in second in both 2022 and 2023.
It wasn’t all good news for China’s automotive market in this year’s VDS, however, as overall, an increase in design-related problems resulted in an industry-wide decline in dependability – the problems reported per 100 vehicles (PP100) rose by 9.3 year-over-year, in fact, coming in at 190 PP100 this year. J.D. Power derives this data from feedback it gathers from the owners of 13- to 48-month-old vehicles over the past six months, with a lower PP100 score reflecting higher quality.
“The decline in China’s vehicle dependability performance in 2024 should serve as a wake-up call for automakers,” said Elvis Yang, general manager of auto product practice at J.D. Power China. “In recent years, the pace of new model launches in the Chinese market has accelerated and development cycles have continuously shortened. Balancing the speed of new model launches with high product reliability and durability will be a critical long-term challenge for automakers. Especially as Chinese brands gradually enter international markets, the long-term reliability of their products will also affect the resale value and new-vehicle sales in overseas markets. Additionally, the rapid iteration of technology features makes ‘timeless design’ in infotainment and driver assistance systems increasingly important. If owners’ experiences cannot be continually optimized through OTA updates, they are likely to experience dissatisfaction through comparison.”
Comment
The articel states the Ford Edge was rated as top in China. It is very sad that it did not stay in No. American production. We bought a 2024 ST Edge after we heard it was going overseas and my wife loves all the power and handling. Took delivery of one of the last production Edge’s.
We went to Park City, UT with Ford Motor Co as part of the purchase for ST products and learned a lot about the new features and got to push it to the limits on different courses. Not ours, but a Ford company vehicle.
Bring it back to No. America!