As Volkswagen nears the start of production at its Chattanooga assembly plant, a new survey shows the brand's reliability rose slightly from a year ago.
But the German automaker remained in the middle of the pack, ranking 16th among 27 makes, survey results from Consumer Reports magazine show.
Luxury carmaker Audi, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, was ranked next to last, ahead only of Chrysler.
Kerry Christopher, manager of product communications for VW of America, said quality is "a top priority."
"We have recently put in new leaders in key management positions within our quality organizations both in the U.S. as well as our parent organizations in Europe," he said.
The recently released survey shows the VW brand moving up one slot from a year ago.
Anita Lam, an auto data program manager for the magazine, said VW's score was dragged down by the Routan minivan, which is produced by Chrysler and rebadged.
She said the survey also excluded VW's New Beetle, which is undergoing a revamp, and the Passat, slated to be replaced in the United States next year by the Chattanooga-made sedan.
"Otherwise, all the models were close to around average or better than average," Lam said.
Christopher said VW's new quality director, Frank Tuch, was once quality head at Porsche, which is to be merged within VW Group as its 10th brand and sports a track record of reliability.
"Expect similar results for VW in the future," Christopher said.
Porsche was ranked No. 2 in the survey, behind Toyota's Scion brand.
Aaron Bragman, an auto analyst for IHS Automotive, said VW must improve quality if it is to challenge Toyota as the world's No. 1 automaker by sales. VW has a global goal of surpassing Toyota by 2018.
"It's all about procedures and principles," he said. "It's basically a lifestyle that permeates throughout the organization. It's not one area. It has to be a companywide spanning effort."
Audi, which globally has accounted for a big portion of VW Group's $6.6 billion profit in the first three quarters of this year, slid seven spots in the survey.
Lam said Audi had problems with the A6 and its supercharged engine. She also cited some issues with power equipment and other problems.
The magazine's survey of subscribers was based on reliability of autos over the last three years, she said.
"We look at history to predict the future," Lam said. "Most of the time it's a pretty good predictor."
VW's $1 billion Chattanooga plant is to produce a yet unnamed midsize sedan aimed for the American market starting early next year.