In the latest J.D. Power quality survey, the top-ranked models in the new energy vehicle segment are all local, leaving foreign brands looking dim once again.

The survey showed that in the NEV market, a total of five models from five segments have won awards in the 2021 China New Energy Vehicle Quality Study (NEV-IQS).

The Nio ES6 ranked highest in the luxury pure electric segment, the Li Auto's only model, the Li ONE, ranked first in the mainstream plug-in hybrid market, and the Xpeng G3 ranked first in the compact pure electric market.

In the mid-size pure electric market, the BYD Han EV ranked No. 1, and in the small pure electric market, the Ora Black Cat ranked No. 1.

The survey contains 10 question categories - exterior body, interior, driving experience, configuration, handling, dashboard, infotainment system, air conditioning, seats, powertrain, driver assistance and battery/charging.

The 2021 study was based on real-world feedback from 3,976 owners who purchased their vehicles between September 2020 and March 2021, according to J.D. Power.

It covers 50 models from 28 brands, with 32 models reaching the full sample size. Data collection took place between March 2021 and May 2021 in 53 Chinese cities.

New vehicle quality is expressed as the average number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), with the lower the number of problems, the better the quality.

Overall, J.D. Power said the NEV industry has improved in quality, with 128 PP100 quality problems in 2021, 10 fewer than in 2020.

Problems with air conditioning and driving experience improved significantly, decreasing by 2.7 and 2.6 PP100, respectively. but driver assistance problems complained of the most increase, increasing by 1.9 PP100, the survey showed.

In 2021, the NEV market continues to see the emergence of new models, accounting for 37.8 percent of all NEV sales. Compared with the existing models (129 PP100), the quality performance of the new debut models (127 PP100) is better, according to the survey.

Quality of pure electric models improved significantly, with the number of problems decreasing from 143 PP100 in 2020 to 129 in 2021.

Plug-in hybrid quality complaints increased, with the number of problems increasing from 121 to 125 PP100, the survey showed.