History has proved that in order to gain a foothold in the American auto market, first of all, its quality must be excellent. But Tesla has bucked the trend. Although it has been lagging behind its competitors in terms of car quality and reliability, sales have continued to grow. In the past 50 years, if automakers cannot master the basics of manufacturing, they have little hope of entering the US market. As Toyota and Honda seized market share from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler in the 1970s, they also built a reputation for automotive reliability.
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At the same time, Dave Sargent, who is in charge of automotive quality research at JD Power, a market research organization, said that Yugo (Yugoslavia), Renault and Sterling are struggling with quality and reliability. It is difficult for foreign brands to gain a foothold in the United States. Hyundai’s turnaround in the United States began after providing a 100,000-mile warranty. This is a signal that it has solved the quality problem.
But as the latest automaker to achieve continued success in the United States, Tesla bucked the trend, proving that poor quality and reliability do not necessarily scare away customers.
For a long time, Tesla has refused to accept many of the ideas behind Toyota’s production philosophy, sometimes relying too much on automation or through surprise inspections to increase production. Over the years, Tesla has lagged behind its competitors in quality and reliability surveys by JD Power and Consumer Reports.
However, Tesla’s sales have been growing, and it has also received industry-leading car owner satisfaction scores. Since 2016, Tesla has been the car brand with the highest customer satisfaction from Consumer Reports. Ed Kim, vice president of AutoPacific, an automotive industry analysis and research company, said that although some automakers have achieved success with inferior models, no company has achieved consistent success like Tesla.
So how did Tesla overcome the traditional concept of “quality is king” in the automotive industry? Mainly through cutting-edge technology, and inspire strong customer loyalty. For example, Tesla is the first to introduce wireless updates, a large screen that controls many settings, and Autopilot, a driver assistance system that can navigate city streets. Owners praised these features, as well as more traditional driving performance indicators such as acceleration and handling.
In addition, Tesla also has strong intangible assets, such as the enthusiasm inspired by its bold and controversial CEO. Elon Musk has stated that he is more concerned with promoting clean energy than maximizing Tesla’s profits.
Therefore, for some customers, Tesla is not just a car, but an opportunity to promote technological progress and build a “healthier planet”. In 2019, a Tesla customer told the media: “Just like Musk said: If you buy a gasoline car in this era, it is like buying a horse when the car is on the market.”
The question is whether Tesla can rely on this enthusiasm in the long run. Ed King and Sargent said that with the emergence of more types of electric vehicles in the next few years, consumers may no longer tolerate Tesla’s defects. Of course, previous similar predictions have been proven wrong. The electric models of rivals such as Audi, Jaguar and Chevrolet have not stopped Tesla’s growth.
Moreover, Tesla’s customers may have fewer problems to deal with in the future. Sandy Munro, founder of the American engineering consulting firm Munro & Associates, said that although Tesla has performed poorly in JD Power’s recent reliability studies, it has made significant improvements in manufacturing quality in recent years.
If Tesla can retain Musk and continue to be a leader in automotive technology, it may not matter whether this trend (gradual improvement in quality) will continue.
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