More and more Chinese brands are entering the Australian market, and fortunately they’ve picked up their game since the days of asbestos recalls.

However, while Chinese vehicle quality has improved, there’s still a gulf between the best and worst automakers there.

The Chinese Automobile Quality Network has published its 2022 Brand Quality Ranking of domestic automakers, as well as a separate ranking for electric vehicle brands.

The study collects data from the first official monitoring platform for automobile quality complaints in China, and is sponsored by the State Administration for Market Regulation.

The State Administration says it received 35,896 reports of automotive defects in 2022, and is focusing on improving the supervision of recalls in 2023.

Internal Combustion Full Dataset

MAKEPLACESCORE
Honda (Dongfeng)1st131
Jetta (VW)2nd (tied)144
Mitsubishi (GAC)2nd (tied)144
Volvo2nd (tied)144
Honda (Guangqi)5th (tied)146
Hongqi (Red Flag)5th (tied)146
Dongfeng Fengon7th149
GAC Toyota8th153
Cadillac9th155
FAW Toyota10th (tied)156
FAW Audi10th (tied)156
Geely12th (tied)157
Wuling12th (tied)157
Fujian Benz12th (tied)157
Lynk & Co15th158
FAW Volkwagen16th160
Buick17th161
MAXUS18th162
Dongfeng Forthing19th165
Chang’an20th167
GWM Tank21st (tied)168
Karry Auto21st (tied)168
Chevrolet23rd (tied)169
Wey (GWM)23rd (tied)169
Lincon (Changan)23rd (tied)169
Land Rover Chery26th (tied)173
Ford Changan26th (tied)173
Jaguar Chery28th (tied)176
Changan Auchan28th (tied)176
Nissan Zhengzhou28th (tied)176
VW SAIC31st (tied)177
Haval31st (tied)177
DFPV (Dongfeng)31st (tied)177
Trumpchi (GAC)31st (tied)177
Roewe31st (tied)177
Citroen DongfengAVERAGE SCORE36th178
Peugeot Dongfeng37th (tied)182
Venucia37th (tied)182
Sehol39th (tied)183
SWM Motors39th (tied)183
Chery41st (tied)184
Bestune41st (tied)184
MG43rd (tied)185
BMW Brilliance43rd (tied)185
Refine Automobile45th189
Kia Dongfeng Yueda46th190
Nissan Dongfeng47th191
Infiniti Dongfeng48th (tied)194
VGV SinoTruk48th (tied)194
Kaiyi Auto49th195
Mazda Changan50th197
FAW Haima (Seahorse)51st200
Exeed52nd204
Ford JMC53rd207
SouEast 54th208
Hyundai Beijing55th209
Beijing Auto56th211
Mercedes-Benz Beijing57th212
Baojun58th (tied)224
Jetour58th (tied)224
Baicorv60th231
Skoda61st232

A total of 204 recalls were issued, involving 4.48 million vehicles – decreases of 12.4 per cent and 48.6 per cent, respectively.

Engine assembly issues accounted for 30.7 per cent of the defect reports in 2022, followed by electrical equipment (23.3 per cent), body issues (18.1 per cent) and drivetrains (12.5 per cent).

New energy vehicles, a catch-all term covering plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, accounted for 4300 of these defect reports, with 41.9 per cent of these defect reports reflecting problems with batteries, electric motors and control systems.

The study was good news for Volvo and bad news for Tesla.

Combustion-powered vehicles

Dongfeng Honda topped the chart with a score of 131 points. The Chinese Automobile Quality Network says the lower the number, the better.

It was followed by Volkswagen’s Jetta brand, GAC Mitsubishi and Volvo in a three-way tie, with a score of 144. Volvo exports a range of vehicles to Australia from China, including the XC40.

Coming in dead last was SAIC Skoda, with a score of 232. The Czech brand’s Chinese joint venture doesn’t export vehicles to Australia, however.

The average score was 178, and some key brands fell below this.

Rankings for Chinese brands that sell vehicles here are as follows:

MakePlaceScore
Volvo2nd (tied)144
Maxus (LDV)12th162
GWM Tank15th168
Chery23rd184
MG24th185

While it has yet to arrive here, Chery’s more premium Exeed and Jetour brands fell further behind the company’s namesake brand at 52nd place and 58th place with scores of 204 and 231, respectively.

Electric vehicle brands

Of the 26 electric vehicle brands on the chart, only three export vehicles to Australia.

MAKEPLACESCORE
BYD3rd127
GWM ORA14th169
Tesla19th227

BYD ranked the highest and came in third overall, with a score of 127.

GWM’s Ora brand was well back at 17th place with a score of 169.

Tesla fell below the average in this study, coming in 22nd with a score of 227.

Electric Vehicle Full Dataset

MAKEPLACESCORE
GAC Aion1st125
Arcfox2nd126
BYD3rd (tied)127
Geely Geometry3rd (tied)127
Neta5th129
Feifan6th134
NIO7th136
Lantu8th141
Weltmeister9th (tied)151
Hycan9th (tied)151
HiPhi11th152
Xiaopeng (Xpeng)12th (tied)154
Skyworth Auto12th (tied)154
Enovate14th157
Li Auto One15th160
JMEV16th163
Euler (GWM Ora)17th169
Chery New Energy18th171
Leap Motor19th193
Lingbao20th196
Zeekr21st224
Tesla22nd227
Denza23rd231
Yudo24th233
Cyrus25th251
Hengrun26th283

William Stopford

William Stopford is an automotive journalist based in Brisbane, Australia. William is a Business/Journalism graduate from the Queensland University of Technology who loves to travel, briefly lived in the US, and has a particular interest in the American car industry.

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