JD Power 2015 Malaysia Initial Quality Study, key findings of the report

Kuala Lumpur: JD Power in its 13th year conducted 2015 Malaysia Initial Quality Study and this time the study revealed many key findings for the car manufacturers to work upon. 2015 Malaysia Initial Quality Study (IQS) conducted a survey and provided car ratings on the basis of 2,622 responses from the new-vehicle owners, those who purchased their vehicle between the month of August 2014 and June 2015. It included 41 pickup and utility vehicle models and passenger cars from 15 brands.

Major Findings:

Vehicle’s driving experience was most commonly reported by owners having a score of 17.8 Problems per 100 vehicles which are up by 3.9 PP100 this year. While, the seats remained with the lowest problem score of just 5 problems per 100 vehicles.

Excessive wind noise was also among the top cited problems this year with a score of 6.2 PP100 followed by the noisy brakes in 3.3 vehicles among 100. Apart from these two-floor mats recorded a score of 2.6 PP100.

This year SUV owners reported the lowest number of problems with their vehicle, whereas compact car owners reported the most number of problems.

The major revelation this year by the JD Power’s study was regarding the role of the salesperson in improving the users experience. It was reported that the owners of those vehicles which were sold with a comprehensive explanation by the sales person had an average of 79 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) whereas those owners who received only partial or zero explanation reported 163 PP100.

Apart from this the importance of test drives was also highlighted in the report, according to which a majority of customers (around 59%) in Malaysia took a test drive while buying their vehicle.Those who took the test drive reported an average of 74 PP100, whereas those owners who refrained from taking a test drive before buying the vehicle reported 97 problems per 100 vehicles which are a serious issue to be in consideration.

Rajaswaran Tharmalingam, country head, Malaysia, J.D. Power said that “With all of the new content automakers are putting in their vehicles, it is absolutely critical for salespeople to provide a comprehensive explanation of the vehicle, including a test drive, to make sure the customer fully understands how to operate all of the technology, as well as all of its benefits.”

According to Mr. Tharmalingam, automakers are inducing a lot of new technologies in their cars and it works as it is designed, however if the customer has no idea how it works then it will lead to difficulties in using it. Thus, here comes the responsibility of the salesperson to explain all such features of the car while selling it to the buyer. Therefore, if the salesperson familiarizes the customers with their vehicle’s technology then it will help to reduce a wide number of problems owners usually experience in their vehicle.

Check out the 2015 Malaysia IQS Study Rankings in various categories over here

Also, let us know your reviews on the JD Power 2015 Malaysia Initial Quality Study in the comments section below. Stay tuned for further updates.