F Ford Motor Company

Kia Motors Corp. topped an annual U.S. survey of vehicle quality, while Detroit's three auto makers continued making significant gains.

Kia became the first non-luxury brand in nearly three decades to nab the top score on J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study, the researcher said Wednesday. The survey, which measures the number of problems consumers experience during the first three months owning a new car, also gave high marks to Porsche AG, Hyundai Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and BMW AG.

Overall, the study found that car manufacturers continue to produce vehicles that run smoothly despite an ever growing number of technological features that range from automatic braking to adaptive cruise control and voice-activated commands. Even amid record recalls and an unprecedented government crackdown on safety lapses in the U.S., new vehicles continue to perform well and give motorists fewer and fewer problems.

"Manufacturers are currently making some of the highest-quality products we've ever seen," said Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive quality at J.D. Power. "Even as they add more content, including advanced technologies that have had a reputation for causing problems, overall quality continues to improve."

Detroit's three auto makers collectively had fewer problems than their foreign counterparts for just the second time in the 30-year history of the study, the last time coming in 2010. Brands at General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's U.S. arm improved quality scores 10% from 2015, double the improvement rate of foreign brands.

GM had seven models that ranked highest in their respective segments, including the Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickup truck, the Chevrolet Spark small car and the new Buick Cascada convertible.

Fiat Chrysler's Jeep and Chrysler nameplates were the most improved brands overall, reducing problems significantly from 2015. But the Fiat brand came in second-to-last in the survey, with its owners experiencing roughly 60% more problems than the average car owner in their first three months after purchase. Fiat Chrysler in a statement said the results for the Fiat brand were skewed by limited models and a small sample size, adding that the brand fared well in other quality assessments.

Owners of smart cars produced by Daimler AG, meanwhile, suffered more than double the number of problems than the industry average, putting the brand on the bottom of the survey. Other brands performing poorly included Volvo, Land Rover, MINI, Mazda and Jaguar, J.D. Power said.

Overall, non-premium brands for the first time since 2006 had fewer problems than premium brands. According to J.D. Power, roughly half of owners say expected reliability is still the most important consideration when buying a new vehicle, with brand loyalty dropping significantly for consumers who experience problems in their first 90 days after purchase.

"There is a direct correlation between the number of problems a customer has with their new vehicle and the decisions they make when it comes time to purchase or lease their next car or truck," Mr. Stephens said. "While a small drop in actual loyalty may not sound like much, a percentage point drop in share can mean millions of dollars in lost revenue to an auto maker."

Toyota won two factory quality awards as part of the J.D. Power assessment for producing models with the fewest defects or malfunctions at its Georgetown, Ky. and Kyushu, Japan plants. Porsche's Stuttgart plant, which produces the 911 and the Boxster, won the plant-quality award for Europe/Africa.

Write to Gautham Nagesh at gautham.nagesh@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 22, 2016 13:35 ET (17:35 GMT)

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