The New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market in China is heating up as increasing number of brand-new models are getting into the market, accounting for nearly 40% of total NEVs sales. The newly launched NEVs have better quality than carryover models in intelligent and connected features, according to the J.D. Power 2021 China New Energy Vehicle Initial Quality Study (NEV-IQS).
The study, now in its third year, measures new-vehicle quality by examining problems experienced by NEV owners in China within the first two to six months of ownership. New-vehicle quality is determined by problems cited per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower number of problems indicating higher quality.
The study shows that in 2021, the market share of all-new models accounts for 37.8% of total NEVs sales. Owners of all-new models experience fewer quality problems (127 PP100) than owners of carryover models (129 PP100). Additionally, these new models also have fewer quality problems than carryover models in intelligent and connected features—4.5 PP100, 3.2 PP100 and 3 PP100 fewer problems in infotainment, driving assistance and battery/charging, respectively.
“The competition intensifies as more and more automotive brands join the NEV race,” said Jeff Cai, general manager of auto product practice at J.D. Power China. “Automotive brands have put more resources into fields such as intelligent and battery technologies in which they have already gained differentiation and first-mover advantages. While introducing advanced technologies into vehicles, they also focus on avoiding quality problems, therefore grasping the opportunity to win the new race.”
Following are some key findings of the 2021 study:
- NEV new-vehicle quality improves in China in 2021:The average number of quality problems in this year’s study is 128 PP100, 10 PP100 fewer than 2020. While the number of problems decline significantly in climate (2.7 PP100) and driving experience (2.6 PP100), driving assistance-related problems increase 1.9 PP100.
- Quality of BEVs improves and of PHEVs decreases:Problems cited by BEV owners are 129 PP100 in 2021, an improvement from 143 PP100 in 2020. Problems cited by PHEV owners increase to 125 PP100 from 121 PP100 in 2020. The gap between BEV and PHEV narrows to 4 PP100 from 22 PP100 in 2020.
- BEVs have fewer quality problems in smart features and PHEVs have fewer basic quality problems: BEVs perform better in intelligent and connected features such as driving assistance and infotainment, while PHEVs exceed in basic quality areas such as exterior and seats. In terms of powertrain, although BEVs and PHEVs have different power output modes, their gap narrows to1.1 PP100, from 6.1 PP100 in 2020.
Highest-ranked models
Models that rank highest in their respective segments in 2021 are: ORA R1 in the small BEV segment; XPeng G3 in the compact BEV segment; BYD Han BEV in the midsize BEV segment; NIO ES6 in the luxury BEV segment; and Leading Ideal ONE in the mass market PHEV segment. In the luxury PHEV segment, criteria for awards were not met, thus no awards are given this year in these segments.
The J.D. Power China New Energy Vehicle Initial Quality Study (NEV-IQS), which was named China New Energy Vehicle Experience Index Study (NEVXI), measures new-vehicle quality by examining problems experienced by NEV owners in two categories: design-related problems and defects/ malfunctions. Specific diagnostic questions include 236 problem symptoms across 10 categories: features/ controls/displays; exterior; interior; infotainment system; seats; driving experience; driving assistance; powertrain; battery/charging; and climate.
The study is based on responses from 3,976 vehicle owners who purchased their vehicle between September 2020 and March 2021. The study includes 50 models from 28 different brands, among which 32 models have sufficient samples. The study was fielded from March through May 2021 in 53 cities across China.
