"The number of problems reported by customers has dropped in all categories comprising the IQS compared to 2004, with eight out of 12 nameplates showing improvements, " JD Power Asia Pacific India director Mohit Arora said in a statement.

"This is genuinely a positive sign for both manufacturers and new vehicle buyers," he added.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki emerged at the top in the JD Power Asia Pacific 2005 India Initial Quality study awards, with three of its models - Alto, Swift and Esteem - bagging first position in their respective categories.

In the compact car segment, Maruti's Alto, Zen and WagonR took the top three positions, relegating Hyundai's Santro to the fourth position.

While Alto has been rated first among compact cars for the second year in a row, WagonR is the industry's most improved brand over last year.

The company's entry level mid sized sedan 'Esteem' was rated first for the third year in a row, ahead of Ford Ikon and Tata Indigo.

The study concluded that initial quality of new vehicles has improved in India, even as models from an old players like Maruti helped push up the overall quality score for the car industry by 49 points.