J.D. Power survey could be genesis of something great

Study shows Korean brands are more than worthy against big-name luxury marques

Listen to the experts, and the Koreans don’t have a hope in H-E-double-hockey-sticks in launching a luxury automotive brand in North America. Oh, they’ll concede, they make passable automobiles but they have no pedigree, they have no style and most importantly, they have no badge. A Genesis — Hyundai’s upstart upscale marque that’s just now getting a foothold here in Canada — can never have the loyalty, the desire, the sheer satisfaction that owning a premium brand like BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Audi engenders.

Guess again, brand slaves! J.D. Power’s latest New-Vehicle Initial Quality Study has just been released, and guess who’s at the head of the list? Yup, you guessed it: Genesis.

To add insult to injury, Korean automakers now occupy all three top spots, with Kia (72 problems per 100 cars) just four behind Genesis with 68 per 100 and Hyundai is third with 74 per 100. Nor is this an anomaly: This is the fourth time Kia has emerged as the “highest-ranking massmarket brand” and, in fact, was the top overall brand in both 2016 an 2017. For those not paying attention, the Koreans have been kicking butt and taking names for some time now.

Nor was this a nail-biting, squeak-one-out-in-overtime finish. Lexus, perennial top-two finisher, ended up way back in eighth with no fewer than 16 more problems per 100 vehicles than the upstart Korean luxury brand. Porsche, another perennial front-runner, managed to salvage some dignity finishing fourth, but still some 11 points behind Genesis. Audi finished 37 problems back, Volvo 54 and Land Rover 92.

Not that it’s all bad news for traditional brands. Porsche’s 911 posted the best score — 48 problems per 100 cars — of any individual model, while Lincoln’s Continental topped the mid-sized premium-car segment. But even here Genesis excelled, the G80 finishing right behind the Lincoln and ahead of the Lexus GS.

In the large luxury premium car set, things were even more astonishing, with the Genesis G90 finishing ahead of BMW’s 7- Series and the Mercedes-Benz S -Class. In case you’re still not getting the point, Genesis owners were more satisfied with their G90 than Mercedes loyalists were with their S -Class.

There’s a lot of good news for the entire industry in this year’s study. Twenty one of the 31 brands in the study improved over last year, and the industry average of 93 problems per 100 cars is an improvement of four over 2017. There were notable improvements throughout the industry in paint imperfections, wind noise and even infotainment systems (J.D. Power attributed this to improvements in voice-recognition systems). Furthermore, for those beating up on domestic manufacturers, all three improved more than the industry average, with Chrysler leading the pack with a seven per 100 advancement and Ford winning more specific model categories — Expedition, Mustang, Super Duty, Lincoln Continental, and Lincoln MKC — than any other manufacturer. Mazda, meanwhile, was the most improved brand, owners reporting an improvement of a whopping 25 per 100 over 2017.

Indeed, the only bad news from the study is that Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) — think frontal-collision warning systems and lane-departure warnings — are giving owners fits. J.D. Power says the reports of issues have been increasing by about 20 per cent per year for the past three years.

One thing to remember is that the IQS study is not a reliability study, but is based solely on the customers’ perception of problems in their new cars. It’s wide open to biases based on brand loyalty. The 911 is no doubt a good car, but does anyone out there really believe that Porsche aficionados were anywhere near as critical of their car’s faults as a newcomer to Genesis was with the G80 or 90? Mercedes owners are an especially loyal breed. For them to rank their cars behind G90 owners is perhaps the most remarkable statistic in this study.

What makes this perhaps even more astounding is that the IQS does not take into account the Genesis “At Home” program. Part of what Patrick Danielson, Genesis Canada’s manager of product strategy and public relations, calls his company’s “omnichannel” sales experience is that potential Genesis customers can “interact with us online, at home, or in one of our growing network of boutique showrooms across Canada.” Furthermore, Genesis pricing is all-inclusive, with no hidden fees, no freight and no PDI costs. And five years of athome service — they’ll come and pick up your car when it needs maintenance — is included.

So brand slaves, do you really want to go on record as saying Genesis will never catch on?

On a final note, my recent test of the Genesis G70 found an entry level luxury sedan not just equal, but superior to the best from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. The Koreans aren’t just coming, they’ve arrived!