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Nissan topped three vehicle segments and finished in the top three in two others in the 2018 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS). J.D. Power IQS is the industry benchmark for new vehicle quality. This year, the Nissan brand improved by eight problems per hundred vehicles (PP100) to an overall average of just 85 PP100, which was best performance of all non-luxury Japanese brands.
The 2018 Nissan Frontier was the top-rated Midsize Pickup for the third consecutive year, while Maxima won Large Car honors with 57 PP100, the second highest score of any vehicle in the study. The popular Nissan Altima took top honors in the competitive Midsize Car segment with a 65 PP100 score, good for sixth among all vehicles in the survey and an 18-point improvement from the 2017 study.
The all-new 100-percent electric Nissan LEAF was another bright spot among many for the brand, with a 17-point improvement in initial vehicle quality over the car’s previous generation surveyed in 2017.
“Nissan’s J.D. Power IQS results for 2018 are encouraging because they reflect customer satisfaction directly from the people who buy and lease our vehicles,” said Mark Swenson, vice president, Total Customer Satisfaction, Nissan North America. “Positive IQS performance is a tribute to the ongoing efforts of Nissan Engineering, R&D, Quality and Manufacturing teams around the world, as well as our many global supplier partners. It is rewarding for us to see positive movement in J.D. Power IQS for three years running.”
Nissan’s nine PP100 improvement marks the brand’s third year of significant improvement in the IQS report. Almost 76,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2018 model-year vehicles were surveyed for 233 potential problems among 33 brands and 240 models from February through May 2018 for this year’s J.D. Power IQS report.
Nissan’s good news went beyond vehicle nameplates. Its massive Smyrna manufacturing plant, the largest production volume assembly plant in North America, was awarded Bronze designation for its System Two (car line) tying for third best in quality performance among North American Manufacturing facilities. System Two assembles the Altima, Maxima and LEAF EV. Adding to the positive manufacturing news; Smyrna System One (SUV line), Canton 2, MS, and Aguascalientes 1, Mexico also scored above the industry average.
J.D. Power
J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power is headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., and has offices serving North/South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. J.D. Power is a portfolio company of XIO Group, a global alternative investments and private equity firm headquartered in London, and is led by its four founders: Athene Li, Joseph Pacini, Murphy Qiao and Carsten Geyer.
