DETROIT (Reuters) - South Korean brands again demonstrated the best initial quality among 32 automotive brands sold in the United States, according to an annual ranking by researcher J.D. Power, with about half of the domestic brands better than average and all European brands below average.
Genesis, Kia and Hyundai, all part of the Hyundai Group, were the top three brands in the 2019 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS), which measures problems in the first 90 days of vehicle ownership. The latest IQS results were released on Wednesday.
Among those brands scoring below the industry average of 93 problems per 100 vehicles were Japanese automaker Honda, German luxury maker Mercedes-Benz, Fiat Chrysler Automobile's Jeep and General Motors' Cadillac.
Anchoring the bottom of the rankings were British brands Jaguar and Land Rover, both affiliates of India's Tata Motors.
J.D. Power said Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was not included in the latest IQS because its sample size was "unrepresentative."
The 2019 IQS brand rankings and scores are as follows:
Genesis, 63
Kia, 70
Hyundai, 71
Ford, 83
Lincoln, 84
Chevrolet, 85
Nissan, 86
Dodge, 90
Lexus, 90
Toyota, 90
Buick, 92
INDUSTRY AVERAGE, 93
GMC, 94
Mazda, 94
Mercedes-Benz, 94
Porsche, 96
Honda, 98
Cadillac, 100
Jeep, 100
Infiniti, 101
BMW, 102
Ram, 105
Audi, 106
Mini, 107
Acura, 110
Chrysler, 113
Subaru, 113
Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p), 113
Volvo, 114
Alfa Romeo, 118
Mitsubishi, 121
Land Rover, 123
Jaguar, 130