Kia Takes Top Spot as Initial Quality Makes Biggest Jump Since 2009

Kia becomes the first non-premium brand in 27 years to take the top spot on J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality Study.

Kia swaps places with Porsche, which was No.1 on the 2015 Initial Quality Study to Kia’s No.2.

Kia records 83 problems per 100 vehicles on the 2016 IQS, while Porsche has 84 problems per 100 vehicles.

Porsche last year had 80 problems per 100 vehicles and Kia had 86.

Despite Kia’s 2016 score not being as high as Porsche’s 2015 result, the takeaway from this year’s IQS is collective quality is at its best level since 2009.

“Manufacturers are currently making some of the highest quality products we’ve ever seen,” Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive quality-J.D. Power, says in a statement released to media.

“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.”

As with last year, issues surrounding voice recognition continue to be the top pain point for brands, says a J.D. Power spokesman.

New-vehicle quality rose 6%, up from a 3% increase in 2015, thanks to strong growth by domestic automakers and a better performance by non-premium brands.

For only the second time in IQS’ 30-year history, brands from General Motors, Ford and FCA have fewer problems (103 per 100 vehicles) than their import-brand counterparts (106 per 100 vehicles).

Meanwhile, the 2016 IQS shows you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get good initial quality, as non-premium brands have a score of 104 problems per 100 compared with 108 problems per 100 for premium brands. It’s the first time since 2006 that mass-market marques have outscored luxury brands.

Hyundai (92 problems per 100), Toyota (93) and BMW (94) take the third through fifth-place spots on the 2016 IQS.

Jaguar, Hyundai and Infiniti ranked No.3, No.4 and No.5 last year, with 93, 96 and 97 problems per 100 vehicles, respectively.

Jaguar plunges to 127 problems per 100 vehicles this year, below the industry average of 105, while Infiniti ties with GMC for tenth place on this year’s study with a score of 103.

BMW, Chevrolet, Buick, Lexus, Lincoln, Nissan, Ford and Volkswagen all rank above the industry average this year. GMC, Nissan and Volkswagen placed below the industry average last year, which was 112 problems per 100 vehicles.

Besides Jaguar, brands falling below the industry average from 2015 to 2016 include Mercedes-Benz, Ram and Honda. However, Mercedes’ score goes unchanged at 111 problems per 100 vehicles, while Ram’s score fell from 110 in 2015 to 114 in 2016.

Honda has 119 problems per 100 vehicles this year, up from 111 in 2015.

Chrysler, Jeep, Subaru Improve

Brands remaining below the industry average include Acura, Audi, Cadillac, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Land Rover, Mazda, Mini, Mitsubishi, Scion, Smart, Subaru and Volvo.

Despite being two of the U.S. auto industry’s fastest-rising marques, Jeep and Subaru again sink below the industry average on the IQS. However, Subaru improves with 118 problems per 100 vehicles this year compared with 142 last year, while Jeep rose from a score of 141 last year to 113 in 2016.

Jeep, alongside sister-brand Chrysler, sees the most improvement from the 2015 rankings.

Smart and Fiat brands swap places from 2015, with Smart ranking last this year and Fiat second-to-last.

Both brands’ scores worsen from 2015, with Smart having 216 problems per 100 vehicles this year compared with Fiat’s 161 last year and its own 2015 score of 154. Fiat this year has 174 problems per 100 vehicles.

In the plant categories, Toyota cleans up.

Despite being open just a year, the automaker’s new Lexus ES line at Toyota’s Georgetown, KY, plant ties for the platinum award with Toyota’s Lexus ES and RX line in Kyushu, Japan. Models built on those lines have just 15 problems per 100 vehicles, J.D. Power says.

Toyota’s Camry line at Subaru’s Lafayette, IN, plant, which Subaru will take over later this year for its own models, and its Lexus GS line in Motomachi, Japan, also rank superior this year.

The Camry line in Lafayette (21 problems per 100) ties with BMW’s Spartanburg X5 and X6 line in South Carolina for J.D. Power’s Silver award for North and South America, while Motomachi’s GS line (16 pp 100) is the silver winner in Asia Pacific.

Kia’s Kwangju No.1 plant in South Korea, home of the popular Soul boxy subcompact, is the Asia Pacific bronze winner (18 pp 100).

The Porsche 911 and Boxster line in Stuttgart, Germany, has the fewest problems per 100 vehicles among plants in Europe and Africa (19).

In vehicle categories, GM takes seven awards, with the Buick Cascada, GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Equinox, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Spark and Tahoe having the least problems per 100 vehicles in their segments.

Toyota (Lexus CT, Lexus GS, Scion tC and Toyota Camry, Corolla and Highlander) takes six category awards, while Hyundai (Hyundai Accent and Azera, Kia Soul and Sportage) and Volkswagen (Audi Q3 and TT, Porsche Macan and 911) each have four winners.

This year’s IQS is based on 80,000 responses by American owners or lessees of a ’16 model vehicle. They were surveyed after 90 days of ownership with responses culled between February and May 2016.

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