Kia tops US quality survey

Kia has become the first non-premium brand to top North America's respected JD Power Initial Quality Study, beating luxury car-makers including Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Hoisting itself to the top step after placing second in 2015, when it was also the top-placed mainstream brand, Kia defeated its own Korean sister brand Hyundai to top the IQS step for the first time in 27 years. Kia entered the overall top 10 for the first time in 2013.

Now in its 30th year, the IQS survey ranks brands based on problems experienced within the first 90 days of ownership, based on responses from more than 80,000 owners or lessees of new 2016 model year vehicles across 33 brands and 26 segments in the US. JD Power asked respondents 233 questions between February and May 2016.

Kia topped the survey with a total of 83 problems reported for every 100 vehicles, after both the Soul and Sportage topped their respective categories and the Rio, Sorento and the Forte (badged as the Cerato in Australia) all finished among the top three in their segments.

All those models are sold in Australia, where Kia has experienced year-on-year sales growth of 24 per cent to May this year, and produced by the same South Korean factory that makes US models.

Porsche came in second with a score of 84 and Hyundai ranked third with 92, while Toyota (93) and BMW (94) rounded out the top five.

Volkswagen finished just above the industry average of 105 problems, while Audi (110), Mercedes-Benz (111) and Jaguar (127) were below-par and Daimler's smart brand ranked last with 216 reported issues.

This year’s survey was the first time since 2006 that customers of mainstream brands have reported fewer problems than premium brands.

The Toyota group had six category winners (Lexus CT and GS, Scion tC, Toyota Camry, Corolla and Highlander/Kluger), while the Hyundai and Volkswagen groups each had four class winners – the latter including the Audi Q3 and TT, and Porsche Macan and 911.

Chrysler and Jeep were recognised as the most improved brands, while seven General Motors models topped their respective segments.

"Ranking number one in the entire industry for initial quality is the result of Kia’s decade-long focus on craftsmanship and continuous improvement, and reflects the voice of our customers, which is the ultimate affirmation,” said Kia Motors America CEO Michael Sprague.

“As the highest ranked brand in the industry, there is no doubt Kia is a world-class automaker.”

While Kia’s annual US sales have surpassed the 600,000 mark after four years of growth, Kia sold just over 16,000 cars in Australia last year, ranking just behind 10th-placed Mercedes-Benz for overall sales.

Kia — the only brand in Australia to offer a seven-year warranty —  ranked fourth in a JD Power customer service satisfaction study in Australia last year – behind Honda, Mazda and Toyota, but ahead of Subaru, Hyundai, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, VW, Holden, Suzuki and Jeep.

“Manufacturers are currently making some of the highest quality products we’ve ever seen,” said Renee Stephens, vice president of US automotive quality at JD Power.

“Tracking our data over the past several years, it has become clear that automakers are listening to the customer, identifying pain points and are focused on continuous improvement. Even as they add more content, including advanced technologies that have had a reputation for causing problems, overall quality continues to improve.”