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# Quality of Korean Cars Finally Beats Out Japanese

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SpOKvKbw.m3u8" -->
## Video: Quality of Korean Cars Finally Beats Out Japanese

[Watch (HLS stream): Quality of Korean Cars Finally Beats Out Japanese](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SpOKvKbw.m3u8) (1:19)

![Quality of Korean Cars Finally Beats Out Japanese](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SpOKvKbw/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2015-06-30. For the first time in almost 30 years, Korean cars beat out Japanese in quality, but it wasn't a surprise for analysts._


---

Jul 27, 2023 6:29 PM UTC

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---


## Transcript

For the first time in almost three decades, the quality of Korean vehicles has beat out the Japanese. In a report by JD Power that looks at problems car owners have during their first 90 days of ownership, Korean brands lead the non- premium industry with an 11 point Improvement from the same report in 2014. The shift isn't exactly a complete surprise to people who have been following how Hyundai and Kia have been improving for the last few decades. In the 80s and 90s, Korean- made cars were seen as cheap, partly because of a focus on quantity over quality. Fast forward to 1998, and Hyundai embraced a dedication to the Quality of vehicles it was churning out.

One analyst told Fortune, the paradigm shifted in the 1990s when Korean industry watched Samsung gain success by embracing quality. It's not all bad news for Japanese automakers though, those companies saw improvements too but the report points out it's just not enough to keep up with the rest of the market. And this couldn't come at a worse time. As Toyota is trying to take over the American car market. Remember this commercial? We're making Toyota trucks. And we build them better than they have to be. Right here in America. Fortune also sites the fact that Hyundai listens to what it's customers have to say as a reason for it topping the list.

For example after hearing people thought their cars looked weird in 2006, the company snatched up a designer from Audi. Those reviews changed immediately.

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