General Motors was an outlier, with a broad increase in quality across its four brands, earning the highest ranking among automakers. Buick was the highest-ranking brand in the study, vaulting from 12th place in 2021. The Chevy Corvette was the highest initial quality model with 101 problems per 100 vehicles. GM earned the most model-level awards, followed by BMW.
“Achieving high quality results requires multiple data sources and a commitment to keep evolving and improving over time," Dan Hermer, GM vice president North America quality, said in a prepared statement. "We will compare this data with our own and continue to look for ways to delight our customers.”
Duncan Aldred, global vice president, Buick-GMC, said in the statement: “We’re very pleased, but not surprised, that Buick finished first in JD Power’s 2022 Initial Quality Study."
Among premium brands, Genesis scored best and ranked No. 4 overall.
Tesla Motors was officially included in the industry calculation for the first time, with a score of 226 problems per 100 vehicles. Tesla does not allow J.D. Power access to owner information, making the automaker ineligible for awards and the brand ranking.
The most problems reported were tied to vehicles' infotainment systems, a trend from previous years' studies. Six of the top 10 problem areas were infotainment-related, such as Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity, built-in voice recognition, difficulty with touch screens/display screens, built-in Bluetooth systems, too few power plugs/USB ports and inconsistent audio volume.
More problems were reported among battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles than vehicles with internal-combustion engines. ICE vehicles averaged 175 problems per 100 vehicles, while plug-in hybrids averaged 226 problems, and battery-electric vehicles – excluding Tesla models—averaged 240.