February 11, 2022 – Kia owners have ranked the brand top in the overall 2022 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) in the United States, with fewer vehicle problems reported than the 31 other brands surveyed. This is the second consecutive year that Kia has claimed the top spot among the mass-market brands but the first time in the survey’s history that a non-premium brand has ranked first overall.
Kia customers ranked the brand ahead of all mass-market and premium brands awarding a ‘problems per 100 vehicles’ (PP100) score of 145, beating the industry average by a wide margin of 47 points. The Kia Sorento secured the top spot in the Upper Midsize SUV category for the second year running.
Kia is one of three brands under the ownership of Hyundai Motor Group, which attracted excellent PP100 scores all-round. In last year’s survey, Kia ranked third overall among mass-market and premium brands and jumped two places to rank first this year. The Group’s premium marque, Genesis, was named the top-ranked premium brand and fourth overall, just one place behind sister brand Hyundai Motor who placed third in the overall ranking.
For the 2022 VDS, J.D. Power surveyed 29,487 customers in the U.S. across 32 automotive brands. Only verified purchasers and lessees of new 2019 model-year cars and light trucks registered for personal use were considered. This year’s survey introduced stringent new criteria that saw the reported problem levels rise by 59% on 2021 figures and increased the PP100 averages from 121 to 192.
