Today J.D. Power released its 2020 Initial Quality Study for new vehicles and for the first time, Tesla was profiled.
However, looking at the chart, Tesla came in at the very bottom of rankings. Why?
“Unlike other manufacturers, Tesla doesn’t grant us permission to survey its owners in 15 states where it is required,” said Doug Betts, president of the automotive division at J.D. Power, in a statement. “However, we were able to collect a large enough sample of surveys from owners in the other 35 states and, from that base, we calculated Tesla’s score.”
The initial score calculated for Tesla was 250 PP100, or 250 problems per 100 vehicles. J.D. Power says Tesla is not officially ranked against other car brands, as the electric vehicle maker doesn’t meet ranking criteria.
“The higher problem levels we see in this year’s study don’t mean vehicle quality has worsened; rather, the redesigned study asks additional questions that allow owners to cite more of the problems that they are experiencing,” said Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive quality at J.D. Power.
Looking at the leaders on the list makes you shake your head, seeing Dodge, Chevrolet and Kia at the top. It’s great to see Tesla make the list though, alongside legacy automakers still figuring out how to beat (or even match) Elon Musk at the electric vehicle game.
