The results of the 2026 China Automotive Product Quality Performance Study are released, and the time before the first quality problem occurs on new vehicles is shortened | Frontline
On September 16, the 2026 China Automotive Product Quality Performance Research Release & Award Ceremony, co-organized by 12365auto and KRR Consulting, was held in Beijing. Two sets of data were repeatedly cited at the event: one is the steadily rising volume of complaints, and the other is the continuously shortened time interval before the first quality issue occurs on new vehicles. Both sets of data point to the same conclusion: the iteration speed of the automotive industry is eroding the redundancy of the traditional quality control system.
Tang Weiguo, Chairman of 12365auto, disclosed a set of data on site: from January to August 2026, the platform received nearly 180,000 valid complaints, a year-on-year increase of 15.46%. Quality-related complaints accounted for 77.07% of the total, with a year-on-year surge of 78.86% compared with the same period last year. It is worth noting that the growth rate of quality complaints far exceeds that of total complaints, showing obvious characteristics of structural deterioration.
In which fields do problems concentrate? The quality of intelligent cockpit, driving assistance and the three-electric system has declined most significantly. Issues such as misidentification and untimely response of NOA functions, inaccurate battery life, and failure to charge are plaguing car owners. Negative reviews of intelligence and three-electric technology from high-impact opinion leaders are amplifying public opinion pressure on enterprises, and the risk of word-of-mouth spread caused by exaggerated publicity is further intensified.
A more striking figure is that in 2026, the average time for the first quality problem of new vehicles has been shortened to 7.4 months, and that of new energy vehicles is even shorter. This means that more and more problems begin to be exposed less than one year after users take delivery of their vehicles. The research points out that this is directly related to insufficient verification after the R&D cycle is compressed, and there are three types of blind areas in the industry: hardware defect verification, software strategy verification, and manufacturing and assembly verification. Not all dimensions are deteriorating.
The quality performance of traditional power modules such as engines and gearboxes continues to improve, and the appearance quality is also improving. However, software-related problems such as infotainment system crash, lag, and long-term failure to upgrade OTA have become the common "infotainment pain" for both fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles. In 2026, the AQR industry market quality performance score is 29.14, a year-on-year deterioration of 7%. The core driving factor is the increase in the number of problems, rather than the rise in their severity.
The special research on the three-electric system is also worthy of attention. The *2026 Research on Quality Performance of Three-Electric Systems of China's New Energy Vehicles* released on the same day covers 76 mainstream new energy models and 37 vehicle brands.
The results show that the overall three-electric quality of Chinese independent brands is still better than that of overseas brands, but the gap between the two has narrowed compared with last year — overseas brands are accelerating to make up for the shortcomings of localized supply chains, and the window of first-mover dividend for independent brands is shrinking. In terms of technical routes, extended-range electric vehicles have the best quality performance among the three power routes, followed by plug-in hybrid vehicles, and battery electric vehicles rank last but show a positive trend. Range performance is still the core shortboard of the three-electric system, and the problem of inaccurate display of remaining battery power / remaining driving range is the most prominent, rising to the first place. The average summer range completion rate of pure electric vehicles is 71.46%, and the winter completion rate is about 11 percentage points lower than that in summer.
A noteworthy trend is that perception-related problems such as inaccurate range display and inconsistent charging efficiency with publicity are replacing traditional hardware failures and becoming the core user pain points in the three-electric quality field. This means that the competition focus has shifted from BOM cost to user experience ROI. Users no longer only care about whether the hardware is reliable, but also pay more attention to the gap between the actual experience and the publicity commitments.
The first released *2026 China Automotive Net Promoter Score (NPS) Index Research Report* provides another observation dimension.
In 2026, the industry NPS index is 32.8, with pure electric models and luxury brands leading the performance. Tesla, GAC Toyota, Tank and NIO top their respective market segments. Product experience is still the cornerstone of word-of-mouth, with a mention rate as high as 70.6%. However, brand marketing is the only dimension that falls into the "NPS influence × satisfaction" matrix's area that needs urgent improvement — the report suggests that automakers should "rely on product experience and quality to secure the bottom line, and rely on branding to break through the upper limit".
Facing the pressure on quality, supervision and standard construction are being accelerated. The State Administration for Market Regulation has recently approved and issued the national standard *Specification for Automotive Software Quality and Defect Management*, which is the first standard at the national level specifically for automotive software quality and defect management, filling the long-standing gap in the industry and promoting quality control to shift from post-incident disposal to pre-incident prevention.
The group standard *Guidelines for User Perceived Quality Evaluation of New Energy Vehicle Battery, Motor and Electronic Control System*, led and compiled by 12365auto and KRR Consulting, has also been approved for project establishment. Enterprises including BYD, CATL, and EVE Energy participated in the compilation, which will build a two-dimensional evaluation framework of "technical performance + user perception". From complaint data to new vehicle failure time, from three-electric perception pain points to NPS word-of-mouth differentiation, this 2026 quality report card reveals an ongoing transformation: when consumers shift from brand worship to value supremacy, quality control is no longer a simple compliance action, but a core moat that determines the long-term cash flow and market share of enterprises.