Brand Satisfaction
Hyundai Motor announced on June 19 that it ranked #1 in the “Initial Quality Survey in 2014” that US-based market researcher J.D. Power unveiled on the previous day.
Korea’s largest car manufacturer topped the list of 20 high-volume brands this year by getting 94 points.
Hyundai has ranked this high three times, including those in 2006 and 2009. Its affiliate Kia Motors ranked third on the list, below Toyota and above Chevrolet and Honda.
The Hyundai Genesis ranked first in the mid-size luxury segment for the second year, with the subcompact Accent and Elantra compact topping their respective fields in the latest quality report.
Kia’s Sportage R came first in the compact SUV segment, with its Cadenza topping the full-size category. The Sportage R got top points last year as well, along with the Genesis.
The survey showed German luxury carmakers such as BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz all ranking in the top half among all brands checked, with Volkswagen ranked 23rd. Italy’s Fiat ranked at the bottom.
Hyundai Motors came in fourth among 32 brands in the category, ranking high-volume brands and high-end names together, outdone by Germany’s Porsche, Britain’s Jaguar, and Japan’s Lexus, but beating the German premium brands BMW (8th) and Mercedes-Benz (13th).
The survey was conducted in a way to investigate customers’ initial quality satisfaction on 233 items of cars which were purchased in the US from November 2012 to February this year, but before three months. J.D. Powers checked 207 car models for the 2014 report.