The quality of new vehicles has improved industry-wide year-over-year according to the JD Power 2026 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS)SM released today. However, infotainment is the exception. Connectivity issues continue to hurt customer experience with new-vehicle quality.*

“As more technology is introduced into vehicles, keeping the experience simple matters more than ever,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at JD Power. “The biggest gains in quality come from features that are easy to use—simple controls, less-intrusive driver assistance and software that works the way customers expect. When technology becomes too complicated, the likelihood of customers experiencing a problem rises considerably.”

Overall, this year premium brands experienced 169 PP100 and mass market brands experienced 177 PP100.