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J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Three Automotive Plants in Germany Receive Initial Quality Awards, Including Platinum Quality Award for Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen Plant

LONDON, June 4 --

- Porsche Ranks Highest among Nameplates in U.S. Initial Quality Study for a Third Consecutive Year

The Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen, Germany, plant receives the PlatinumPlant Quality Award, while two other German plants also receive awards,according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 U.S. Initial QualityStudy(SM) (IQS) released today.

The Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, receives thePlatinum Plant Quality Award for producing vehicles yielding the fewestdefects and malfunctions. Averaging just 33 problems per 100 vehicles(PP100), the plant produces the Mercedes-Benz CL-Class, CLS-Class, E-ClassSedan, E-Class Wagon and S-Class. Plant awards are based solely on defectandmalfunction counts.

Porsche"s Stuttgart, Germany, plant, which produces the Porsche 911,receives the Silver Plant Quality Award for the Europe region. The BMWRegensburg, Germany, plant, which produces the BMW 3 Series earns theBronzeQuality Plant Award.

For a third consecutive year, Porsche tops the overall nameplaterankings, averaging 87 PP100. Following in the rankings are Infiniti (whichimproves from 9th rank position in 2007), Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota,respectively.

"Porsche continues its steady improvement and has succeeded indistancingitself from its second-ranked competitor to a greater degree in 2008 -- byagap of 11 PP100 -- compared with 3 PP100 in 2007," said Brian Walters, vicepresident of Europe, Middle East and Africa operations at J.D. Power andAssociates. "Mercedes-Benz also continues to make gains in initial quality,improving by 7 PP100 since 2007, and garnering two model-level awards fortheCLK-Class and E-Class."

Other 2008 Plant Quality Award Recipients

Among North and South American plants, the Toyota plant in BajaCalifornia, Mexico, which produces the Toyota Tacoma, achieves the GoldPlantQuality Award.

In the Asia Pacific region, Toyota"s Fujimatsu, Japan, plant, whichproduces the Toyota Prius, receives the Gold Plant Quality Award.

2008 U.S. Initial Quality Study Findings

The U.S. Initial Quality Study serves as the industry benchmark fornew-vehicle quality measured at 90 days of ownership. The study is usedextensively by vehicle manufacturers worldwide to help them design andbuildbetter vehicles and by consumers to help them in their vehicle purchasedecisions. Initial quality has been shown over the years to be an excellentpredictor of long-term durability, which can significantly impact consumerpurchase decisions. The study captures problems experienced by owners intwodistinct categories -- quality of design and defects and malfunctions.

Initial quality in the automotive industry has improved significantly in2008, with substantial gains demonstrated by nearly three-fourths of the36 ranked nameplates. Overall quality improves to 118 PP100 in 2008, downfrom 125 PP100 in 2007.

"Due to some strong new-vehicle launches, in addition to a continuedreduction in the level of defects and malfunctions, overall qualityimprovesby 6 percent in 2008, compared with 2007," said David Sargent, vicepresidentof automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates. "This gain is drivennotonly by strong advances from many of the high-volume brands such asChevrolet, Ford and Toyota, but also by very significant improvements bymanyother automakers. This industry-wide improvement is a testament to theeffortthat automakers are putting into listening to the voice of the customer,andthe hard work they have undertaken to integrate that feedback to design,engineer and manufacture better-quality vehicles. From working closely withthe industry, we see the importance that is placed on initial quality.Vehicle manufacturers and consumers alike are reaping the rewards of thiseffort."

The study finds that 86 percent of the overall improvement is due toadvances in eliminating defects and malfunctions. Minimizing designproblemsremains a major challenge for the industry, particularly since newtechnology, such as navigation and entertainment devices, is becomingincreasingly common in today"s new vehicles.

"As consumer demand for new and more advanced wireless communication,navigation and audio technology continues to grow, manufacturers facechallenges related to how well these systems are integrated into theirvehicles," said Sargent. "In particular, issues with difficult-to-use audioand entertainment controls and voice command recognition failure are amongthe top ten problems most frequently reported by customers. Sincehands-freecommunication for drivers will become a mandate in more and more areasthroughout the United States, this will need to be an area of continuedfocusfor automakers."

The study also reflects that new-vehicle sales patterns in 2008 haveshifted away from the largest models and toward smaller models.

"This shift in sales preferences among new-vehicle buyers is in part aresponse to rapidly increasing fuel prices," said Sargent. "The good newsforconsumers in this difficult environment is that they can downsize withconfidence, as there are many models with high initial quality in thesmaller-vehicle segments. J.D. Power and Associates forecasts that 28 newcompact-vehicle models will launch by 2010, and it will be particularlyimportant for manufacturers to ensure high initial quality in theselaunches."

2008 U.S. IQS Ranking Highlights

Honda models capture three segment awards -- more than any othernameplate in the 2008 study -- for the Civic, CR-V and Fit. Garnering twosegment awards each are: Chevrolet (Malibu and Silverado LD); Dodge (Dakotaand Durango); Infiniti (EX-Series and M-Series); Lexus (LS and RX); andMercedes-Benz (CLK-Class and E-Class). The Porsche 911 has the fewestquality problems in the industry, with just 67 problems per 100 vehicles. Also receiving segment awards are the Ford E-Series, Lincoln Navigator, MazdaMX-5 Miata, Pontiac Grand Prix Sedan and Toyota Sequoia.

"In past years, automakers have frequently struggled to achieve veryhighinitial quality with new models," said Sargent. "With product launches andredesigns often being problematic for manufacturers from a qualitystandpoint, it is particularly impressive that the Chevrolet Malibu andInfiniti EX-Series achieve such high levels of quality that they receiveawards in their launch year."

Audi posts the largest improvement in ranking, moving from 26th place in2007 to 10th in 2008.

The 2008 U.S. Initial Quality Study is based on responses from more than81,500 purchasers and lessees of new 2008 model-year cars and truckssurveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study is based on a 228-questionbattery designed to provide manufacturers with information to facilitateproblem determination and drive product improvement.