Kia, the South Korean brand that spent years trying to eliminate a track record for substandard cars, placed first Wednesday among the car industry’s most closely observed quality surveys.
It was the very first time in 27 years that a non-luxury brand has actually come in first in the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study, which ranks brands by the variety of flaws found by owners in their vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership. Mainstream brands jointly had a cumulative higher quality rating than all the luxury brand names for the first time since the year of 2006.
In positioning first from 33 brands, Kia owners reported 83 problems per 100 automobiles, beating the market average of 105. In winning, Kia goes up from second in the research in 2015.
Kia executives in the U.S. revealed elation.
“Ranking number one in the whole industry for initial quality is the result of Kia’s decade-long focus on craftsmanship and constant enhancement, and shows the voice of our consumers, which is the ultimate affirmation,” stated Michael Sprague, chief running officer for Kia Motors America, in a statement. “As the highest ranked brand name in the market, there is no doubt Kia is a world-class automaker.”
In the 2016 study, Hyundai, was ranked in 3rd behind Porsche, 2015’s winner. Toyota and BMW round out the Top 5, J.D. Power stated.
Following is Power’s ranking and the number of flaws reported per 100 cars:
Kia 83
Porsche 84
Hyundai 92
Toyota 93
BMW 94
Chevrolet 95
Buick 96 (tie)
Lexus 96 (tie)
Lincoln 96 (tie)
Nissan 101
Ford 102
GMC 103 (tie)
Infiniti 103 (tie)
Volkswagen 104
INDUSTRY AVERAGE 105
Audi 110
Mercedes-Benz 111
Cadillac 112
Jeep 113
Ram 114
Chrysler 115
Mitsubishi 116
Dodge 117
Subaru 118
Honda 119
Acura 122
Scion 123
Jaguar 127 (tie)
Mazda 127 (tie)
Mini 127 (tie)
Land Rover 132
Volvo 152
Fiat 174
Smart 216
Top Three Models Per Segment
City Car: Chevrolet Spark
Small Car: Hyundai Accent, Chevrolet Sonic, Kia Rio
Small Premium Car: Lexus CT, BMW 2 Series, Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class
Compact Car: Toyota Corolla, Kia Forte, Hyundai Elantra
Compact Sporty Car: Buick Cascada (tie), Scion tC (tie), Hyundai Veloster
Compact MPV: Kia Soul
Compact Premium Car: Lincoln MKZ, Lexus ES, BMW 3 Series
Compact Premium Sporty Car: Audi TT, Porsche Boxster, Porsche Cayman
Midsize Car: Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Honda Accord
Midsize Sporty Car: Dodge Challenger
Minivan: Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan
Midsize Premium Car: Lexus GS, Audi A7, Hyundai Genesis
Midsize Premium Sporty Car: Porsche 911
Large Car: Hyundai Azera, Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Impala
Small SUV: Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Buick Encore
Small Premium SUV: Audi Q3, BMW X1
Compact SUV: Chevrolet Equinox (tie), GMC Terrain (tie), Ford Escape
Compact Premium SUV: Porsche Macan, Lincoln MKC, BMW X3
Midsize SUV: Toyota Highlander, Kia Sorento, Nissan Murano
Midsize Premium SUV: BMW X5, BMW X6, Lexus RX
Midsize Pickup: Nissan Frontier, GMC Canyon, Chevrolet Colorado
Large SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe, Toyota Sequoia, Ford Expedition
Large Premium SUV: Lincoln Navigator, Infiniti QX80, Land Rover Range Rover
Large Light Duty Pickup: Chevrolet Silverado LD, GMC Sierra LD
Large Heavy Duty Pickup: Chevrolet Silverado HD, Ford Super Duty, GMC Sierra
