Good news for Genesis, Hyundai and Kia as JD Power’s annual US Technology Experience Index (TXI) Study for 2022 shows Korean sister brands rank high on the charts.
Genesis, which leads the 2022 Vehicle Dependency Study in the premium category, topped the US TXI Study in the premium and overall category with an Innovation Index score of 643 (on a 1,000-point scale). The Korean luxury brand beat Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz in the latest JD Power study.
Meanwhile, Hyundai (534) ranks highest in the mass market with Kia (495) just behind. Only Hyundai and Kia are in the top 10 of the overall innovation ranking. They are also the only mainstream brand to surpass the industry average Innovation Index score of 486.
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It’s also important to note that Tesla and Polestar, while achieving chart top scores, are unofficial. Tesla’s Innovation Index score of 681 was the highest in this study. However, it remains ineligible because the company does not allow JD Power access to owner information in states where that permission is required by law.
The US TXI Study, which complements the JD Power US Preliminary Quality Study (IQS) and the US Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study (APEAL), measures how effectively each automotive brand is bringing new technology to market. Responses were mobilized from 84,165 owners of new 2022 model year vehicles after 90 days of ownership, from February to May 2022.
Meanwhile, JD Power’s US TXI Study also noted that the fingerprint reader was the most problematic feature among the technologies included in the survey. The feature, which was added to research for the first time this year, also had the lowest overall satisfaction score. It even scores lower than the interior gesture control, which is the lowest-ranking tech feature for the past two years.
The study also found that dealers who explained advanced technology features to new owners were less likely to abandon the technology after trying it. This highlights the important role of dealers in the acceptance of new technologies among vehicle owners.
