Accent outranked the small car competition in 2014 J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey.
The Hyundai Accent received the lowest number of problems per 100 vehicles among small cars in the proprietary J.D. Power 2014 Initial Quality Study.
Study based on responses from 86,118 new-vehicle owners, measuring 239 models and measures opinions after 90 days of ownership.
Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of owners surveyed in February-May 2014.
Korean brands lead the industry in initial quality by the widest margin ever, averaging 90 PP100, which is an 11 PP100 improvement from 2014.
For the first time in the study, European Brands (113PP100) surpass Japanese brands (114 PP100), while domestic makes (114 PP100) equal the Japanese for only a second time.
“This is a clear shift in the quality landscape,” said Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. Automotive quality at J.D. Power.
“For so long, Japanese brands have been viewed many as the gold standard in vehicle quality.
“While the Japanese automakers continue to make improvements, we’re seeing other brands, most notably Korean makes, really accelerating the rate of improvement.
“Leading companies are not only stepping up the pace of improvements on existing models, but are also working up front to launch vehicles with higher quality and more intuitive designs.”