Days after becoming the most valuable car company in the world, Tesla finds itself at the opposite end of the spectrum in J.D. Power's latest quality study. According to the report, Tesla produced the least reliable new cars in the United States in 2020.
The 2020 Initial Quality Report highlights the number of issues reported by owners within the first 90 days of purchasing a new vehicle. J.D. Power found that Tesla accumulated an eye-opening 250 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), again, leaving it dead last in terms of new car reliability in the US.
Tesla's numbers may be skewed, however, as J.D. Power points out that the Elon Musk-led company refused to cooperate in the survey in 15 states where OEM permission is required. “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,” added president of the automotive division, Doug Betts.
Conversely, Dodge and Kia ranked as the most reliable producers of new cars in the country, with 136 PP100, followed by Chevrolet and Ram, who came in second with 141 PP100. Rounding out the top three is Genesis with 142 PP100.
Industrywide, there were approximately 1.66 problems on average with new cars in the US in 2020, although J.D. Power attributes this partially to new survey questions. The report takes into consideration features, controls and displayers, interior, exterior, seats, climate, driving experience, infotainment, powertrain, and driving assistance.
See below for this year's quality ranking and head on over to J.D. Power for more.
