Hyundai Motor ranks No. 1 in J.D. Power study for 2 consecutive years

Hyundai Motor Group ranked No. 1 in the U.S.’s most authoritative vehicle dependability study (VDS) for two consecutive years. The South Korean automotive group received a top rating for its technological capabilities in terms of durability after purchase and positive feedback on its new models’ quality, reinforcing its global standing.

According to Hyundai Motor Group on Sunday, the Genesis ranked No. 2 (144 points), Kia No. 3 (152 points), and Hyundai No. 8 (170 points) among 31 brands, including luxury car brand, in the U.S.-based market research company J.D. Power VDS. Based on the average score by group, Hyundai Motor Group scored the lowest 160 among 16 automobile groups, including Toyota Group (163 points) and GM Group (165 points).

The points, which are the criteria for ranking, are calculated based on a survey of customers who purchased cars within the last three years for 184 questions regarding their satisfaction with quality. A lower score means higher quality satisfaction. This year’s VDS was conducted on 227 models of 31 brands (30,062 cars) sold in the U.S. from July 2019 to February 2020.

In the same study last year, Hyundai Motor Group also took the top spot for its dependability. In the last year’s VDS results, the South Korean group had 147 points on average, followed by Toyota Group with 158 points and GM Group with 172 points, topping the study for the first time as a group.

In particular, Kia had the lowest score among 18 mass-market car brands, topping the list for three consecutive years. It beat Japanese brands, such as Mitsubishi Motors (No. 4 with 167 points) and Toyota (168 points), by a large margin.

Hyundai, which was ranked No. 3 in the mass market category last year, took the sixth position this year along with Nissan and Mini (all with 170 points). Genesis ranked No. 2 and Japan’s Lexus with 133 points among 13 luxury car brands. Genesis had over 60 points difference compared to other Japanese luxury car brands, including the Infiniti (No. 5 with 205 points) and the Acura (No. 7 with 211 points).

The VDS is one of the two main criteria that U.S. customers refer to before purchasing a car, along with J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study (IQS). Hyundai Motor Group has been receiving positive results in the IQS, including one of its brands, Kia topping the 2016 IQS for the first time among the group’s brands. In 2020, Hyundai Motor Group started to be ranked high n the VDS, which evaluates cars’ post-purchase management capabilities. “Hyundai Motor Group’s biggest weakness was pointed out as durability,” said an industry source. “As Japanese car brands saw steep growth in the North American market once its quality was recognized, Hyundai Motor Group can expect both qualitative and quantitative growth thanks to the recent VDS results.”


Jae-Hyeng Kim monami@donga.com