Improvement in local vehicle quality

The findings form part of Synovate's Competitive Customer Satisfaction (CCSI) research which is the largest survey of its kind in the South African market. Part of this survey includes a Product Quality measurement, which is commonly known as PP100 or Problems per 100 Vehicles.

Quite literally this survey measures the number of problems new car owners experience with their vehicles in the first few months of ownership. This means that in this survey, a lower score means a better result.

The survey shows that although there are still customers who experience problems with their vehicles, the automotive industry has made dramatic strides in achieving the highest levels of quality.

Synovate has been conducting research into vehicle quality since 1991 as part of the largest survey of vehicle owners in South Africa, incorporating more than 55,000 interviews on an annual basis.

What has become clear is that whilst new technology has certainly had an impact on vehicle quality, the improvements are also due to the intense attention that manufacturers are giving to producing top quality vehicles.

“Our experience with the manufacturers of motor vehicles in the last 17 years is that product quality is one of the highest items on the agenda and their efforts to improve are intense and ongoing – all of this to the benefit of the South African motorist,” says Richard Rice, Automotive Client Services Director at Synovate.

Passenger Car owners reported an average of 250 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 1997 whilst in 2007 the average has improved to only 109 problems per 100 vehicles. This implies that the average vehicle owner used to experience at least 2.5 problems whilst today's customer is reporting only 1 problem per vehicle – a 56% improvement.

The focus of the Synovate analysis was on product quality from 2005 to 2007.

In the passenger car segment the most improved cars were in the entry level market with problems dropping from 244 problems per 100 vehicles to 136 problems per 100 vehicles in 2007.

“This is a very positive trend,” says Rice, “because it shows that manufacturers are not only focussing on improving higher end products but are giving attention to all products.”

In every segment, the highest number of problems relate to noise levels and to electrically operated items. No longer are basic mechanical issues and reliability problems at the fore but rather, more ‘cosmetic' aspects are becoming a concern for customers.

Rice says, “This is due to the dramatic increase in specification levels and electronically operated items that extend all the way through most vehicle ranges.”

The small hatch segment has also demonstrated a positive change since 2005 and has reached a count of 114 problems. In this segment, as with many of the others, noise levels are the highest contributing factor.

The small sedan market sector has halved its problem count since 2007 – from 166 PP100 to 84 PP100 in 2007, translating into less than 1 problem per vehicle. In this segment in particular there are fewer and fewer problems being reported for items such as gearboxes, steering and handling, performance, leaks and ventilation issues.

The top hatch segment has seen a drop of 40 PP100 since 2005, achieving a score of 125 PP100 in 2007. Aside from squeaks and rattles which is the largest contributor to the problem count in this segment, brake and handbrake issues as well as mechanical and performance issues are the main reported problems.

“This market is typified by very critical customers who are demanding when it comes to performance and handling, which explains the fact that performance issues are regularly reported in this segment,” says Rice.

In the top sedan section squeaks and rattles are the major areas of complaints. The medium segment of the market is traditionally exceptionally competitive and this has led to a significant improvement in the overall product quality – dropping from 132 problems per 100 vehicles in 2005 to only 82 in 2007.

“An encouraging fact is that this segment is one where many of the vehicles are locally produced which bodes very well for our ongoing expansion into the export market,” states Rice.

The MPV/station wagon segment has also seen an impressive drop off in problems in the last three years, moving from 207 PP100 to 105 PP100. Noise levels have been dramatically reduced in this segment but still remain the biggest problem area.

Sport coupes, typically driven by very demanding customers, have improved to a count of 72 PP100 and this highlights the fact that high levels of product quality have been achieved with the most critical drivers.

Top executive vehicles have always boasted the lowest problem count which has made it difficult to notice the proportional improvement here. However, this segment's problems have dwindled to a mere 47 PP100, from 79 in 2005. This means that more than half of top executive drivers experience absolutely no problems with their vehicle. This is a huge compliment to the manufacturers producing vehicles this segment.

With recreational vehicles, the major contributor to their problem count lies in the noise level area, contributing to 38% of the problems in the large RV segment.

The problem count in the small RV has dropped to 102 problems per vehicle.

Footnote: For the latest Quality Award results on Product Quality (published in October 2007), go to www.synovate.com/southafrica. More than 55,000 vehicle owners are interviewed each year and the survey has been extensively used by the manufacturers for more than thirteen years as the benchmark of vehicle quality.