Though Lincoln has found its fair share of success in China, where consumers have gravitated toward the luxury brand, it didn’t exactly perform well in last year’s J.D. Power China Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS). In fact, after ranking above the segment average in 2021, it wasn’t included in 2022, and last year, Lincoln fell below the mean with a score of 199 PP100, or problems per 100 vehicles, which was the second-worst of all premium brands in that country. Now, the 2024 version of J.D. Power’s China VDS has been released, and it doesn’t show much improvement.
This time around, Lincoln did manage to improve upon last year’s results somewhat with a score of 197 PP100, which was still behind the segment average of 177, but also, ahead of Lexus, Cadillac, and Fujian Benz, placing it eighth among all premium brands in China. These results pale in comparison to Ford’s, however, as the Changan Ford joint venture ranked third among all mass market brands. Additionally, a number of Ford models secured segment wins, including the Ford Focus in the mid-size car space, the Mondeo in the upper mid-size car segment, and the Ford Edge L topped the large SUV segment as well.
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.”
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