Kia Motors has out performed the non-premium average for the first time in the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Initial Quality StudyTM, which surveys the number of problems new vehicle owners experience after 3 months of ownership.
Kia posted an 11-point year-on-year improvement on 2006, scoring 125 points (125 problems per 100 vehicles). The company has seen a consistent improvement in two distinct categories – quality of design and quality of production. Kia has improved more than any other non-premium brand over the last five years posting a 43-point improvement since 2003. In addition, the B-Segment 2007 Kia Rio/Rio5 ranked highest in the sub-compact segment of the Initial Quality Study. Completely redesigned in 2006, this is the second consecutive year Rio/Rio5 has received this honor, while detecting 102 problems per 100 vehicles.
