Honda remains top mainstream brand in perceived quality study

Ford and Hyundai have improved the most in perceived quality among volume brands in the past four years, but Honda has the top score in that grouping, according to a study released Thursday that measures consumers' perception of brand quality.

ALG, the TrueCar Inc. subsidiary that sets residual values for the auto industry, says Ford's quality perception has risen 37 percent to a score of 70.5 on a 100-point scale since the inaugural study in spring 2008. Hyundai's score jumped 25 percent to 62.3 during the period. The survey is conducted twice a year.

Honda continued to lead volume brands in this spring's study with a score of 81.3. It has held the No. 1 spot since the spring 2010 survey.

Toyota finished second in this year's spring study at 80.1, while Subaru finished third with 71.1. The industry average is 59.1.

Scion, 56.9; Kia, 52.4; Chrysler, 49.1; Dodge, 48.8; and Fiat, 44.5; improved since the last study in fall 2011 but are below industry average.

Kia's perceived quality has climbed over the past four years. In the inaugural study the Korean marque ranked last among brands that remain in the market today.

The Perceived Quality Study used data from 3,000 U.S. consumers and was compiled in late April. The study ranks volume brands and luxury brands separately.

"Changing the perception of quality is a long-term proposition," Eric Lyman, ALG's vice president of residual value solutions, said in a statement. "Consumers recognize the product improvements made by Ford and Hyundai. Honda and Toyota are still widely recognized as being the quality leaders, but as more consumers increasingly consider brands like Subaru, Ford and Hyundai, that perception gap erodes."

Lexus, 85.4, paces luxury brands while three German brands -- Mercedes, 82.9; BMW, 81.5; and Porsche, 80 -- round out the top four.

ALG found that owners are more likely to rate their brands higher than other brands. In this spring's study, brand owners scored their brands 17 percent higher than other brands.

The study said: "The difference between owner and nonowner perception can give clues to the future direction of brand perception, as owners may have more intimate knowledge of a make's quality."