Genesis has again been ranked as the best automaker when it comes to the technology experience inside its vehicles, keeping the position it gained last year. Its innovation score of 643 ranks it way above the segment average and ahead of more established names, consolidating its position after in 2020 it ranked fourth, below Volvo, BMW, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz all of which it has now beaten for two years in a row.
The JD Power User Tech Experience Index (TXI) looks at 35 automotive technologies that it divides into several categories: convenience; emerging automation; energy and sustainability; and infotainment and connectivity. Interestingly, even though Genesis won with the highest score, it didn’t actually receive an award in any of these specific categories.
It’s worth noting that Tesla would have won this with a considerably higher score than Genesis, but it was not ranked because it apparently did not meet the study’s criteria. This is because Tesla doesn’t allow access to owner information without permission in some states, thus making it ineligible for ranking. Polestar also had a high score but was also not ranked, although JD Power doesn’t say what the specific reason was in this case.
Cadillac ranked second overall and its Escalade luxury SUV was given an award for its camera rear-view mirror (Subaru Ascent got the same award but for the non-premium segment), while the Lexus IS sedan was given an award for its cross traffic alert system and the BMW X3 won an award for its infotainment and connectivity. Premium automakers aside, it as Genesis’ parent company Hyundai that ranked first, followed by Kia and Buick.
JD Power also noted the most problematic pieces of technology from the data that it had gathered was the fingerprint reader. This feature is apparently bad in most applications and users who currently have it on their vehicle would not choose this feature for their next vehicle.
Kathleen Rizk, senior director of user experience benchmarking and technology at J.D. Power, explained that
Automakers should consider benchmarking brands that innovate well for a technology, which would allow them to identify and then integrate best practices. Effective innovators understand that new technologies can be introduced successfully with proper design and execution.
When owners get the technology features they really want—and which meet their user-experience expectations—the results are positive and those owners tell their friends about the experience.
