Hyundai, Kia cheer their best performance in J.D. Power dependability survey

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. made a big advancement in dependability with their highest-ever scores, J.D. Power’s annual survey showed.

According to the 2018 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) released by U.S.-based J.D. Power on Feb. 14, Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor ranked second and third in the non-premium vehicle ranking, which includes 19 brands, with a score of 122 and 124, respectively, which are their best performance ever since they first put their names in the list.

Kia Motors moved up four notches to the second in the ranking from a year ago, while Hyundai Motor retained the third spot.

Kia Rio won the top spot in the small car segment, while Hyundai Tucson named the most dependable vehicle in the small sports utility vehicle (SUV) category. Hyundai Santa Fe ranked second in the midsize SUV segment.

Among the entire brand including luxury cars, Kia moved up six notches to the fifth, and Hyundai stayed at the sixth. The two Korean carmakers beat global big names like BMW, Audi, Lincoln, Cadillac and Toyota, which has ranked in the top three during the past 10 years. GM’s Buick division topped this year’s roster, and Toyota fell to the fifth from the top spot.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have continuously put their names on the top 10 list of the Initial Quality Study (IQS) in the non-premium segment since 2011 and topped the list for five years since 2014.

J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study measures car reliability and gives ratings in 177 areas based on the number of issues reported by original owners of three-year-old vehicles. Lower scores mean higher customer satisfaction.

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