Kia, Hyundai Score Higher in Quality Study, Outpace Japanese Brands - TheStreet.com
Of the 33 industry brands sold in the U. S. , Kia scored No. 2 and Hyundai No. 4, making them the top mainstream automotive names in terms of initial quality, the first time either have ever achieved such marks. The best individual models by type included the Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio small cars, Kia Optima midsize sedan and Hyundai Tucson small SUV. Kia had 86. Jaguar 93 and Hyundai 95. The industry average was 112 problems per 100 vehicles surveyed. Tellingly, the average of all Japanese brands for the first time was below industry average. "What we saw this year is that the improvement rate of Hyundai and Kia outpaced the Japanese brands, rather significantly," said Renee Stephens, vice president of U. S. automotive quality at J. D. Power, which is a unit of McGraw Hill Financial. But all is not rosy for Hyundai and Kia, which together are the world's fifth-largest automaker. Hyundai has gained 153% and Kia 237%, while the Kospi Index of 200 largest stocks has risen 96% over the same period. Through the late 1990s, Hyundai, which owns a third of Kia, and. Source: www.thestreet.com
