J.D. Power studies about consumer car preferences are the industry’s gold standard. The research firm has released its 2020 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study. Jaguar and Land Rover were at the bottom of the list, a severe blow to any high-end luxury brand.
The British-based Jaguar brand was introduced in 1935, and Land Rover was introduced in 1948. India’s Tata Motors now owns these two luxury brands.
The survey measures problems per hundred vehicles for cars that are three years old and driven by their original owners. So the 2020 results cover 2017 vehicles. Survey questions cover 177 potential problems grouped into eight major categories. The lowest score per 100 vehicles is the best score available. The overall score for the industry rose by 1.5 from the previous year to 134.
Land Rover ranked 32nd with a score of 220. Jaguar was 30th with a score of 186. These British car brands have been part of Tata since 2008. They have struggled with losses and falling sales. There have been rumors Tata would like to sell them.
The Genesis brand, which received the top score, was part of the Hyundai line of cars. The parent, Hyundai Motor Group, decided to spin it out as its own division. The plan follows similar moves years ago when Toyota spun out Lexus and Nissan did the same with Infiniti. The Hyundai decision about Genesis was made in 2015. Hyundai also controls the downscale Kia brand.
Genesis only has four vehicles in its lineup: the compact G70, the G80 sports sedan, the high-end flagship G90 and the new GV80 SUV. The brand competes with much larger BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Lexus. Its model line is also up against Ford’s Lincoln and the Cadillac line from General Motors.
Genesis had a score of 90 problems per hundred vehicles. The industry average measured the score of 32 brands. The brands just behind Genesis were Lexus at 100 and Porsche at 104. Several luxury brands did very poorly. Mercedes-Benz ranked 22nd with a score of 152. Infiniti ranked 24th with a score of 155.
Tata has had no success in its attempt to turn around the Land Rover and Jaguar brands. The chief of the two brands will leave in September. The brands also will cut the output at two of their U.K.-based factories. The future for the two brands looks difficult, at best.
Methodology: The 2020 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study is based on responses from 36,555 original owners of 2017 model-year vehicles after three years of ownership. The study was fielded from July through November 2019.
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