Good news for Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia as the J.D. Power's annual US Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study for 2022 shows the Korean sister brands ranking high in the charts.
Genesis, which led the 2022 Vehicle Dependability Study in the premium category, tops the US TXI Study in both premium and overall categories with an Innovation Index score of 643 (on a 1,000-point scale). The Korean luxury brand bested Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz in the latest J.D. Power study.
Meanwhile, Hyundai (534) marks the highest in mass market ranking with Kia (495) right behind. Only Hyundai and Kia enter the top 10 rankings in overall innovation. They are also the only mainstream brands that went over the industry average Innovation Index score of 486.
Gallery: 2023 Genesis G90 First Drive Review
It's also important to note that Tesla and Polestar, despite raking chart-topping scores, were unofficial. Tesla's Innovation Index score of 681 was the highest in the study. However, it remains ineligible since the company doesn't allow J.D. Power access to owner information in the states where that permission is required by law.
The US TXI Study, which complement the J.D. Power US Initial Quality Study (IQS) and US Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, measures how effectively each automotive brand brings new technologies to market. Responses were fielded from 84,165 owners of new 2022 model-year vehicles after 90 days of ownership, from February to May 2022.
Meanwhile, J.D. Power's US TXI Study also notes that fingerprint reader is the most problematic feature among the tech included in the survey. The feature, which was added to the study for the first time this year, also has the least overall satisfaction score. It even scored lower than interior gesture controls, which was lowest ranked tech feature for the past two years.
The study also finds that dealers explaining advanced tech features to new owners results in owners being less likely to abandon the technology after trying. This highlights the important role of dealers in the acceptance of new technologies among vehicle owners.
