Kia Motors tops list of non-premium car brands in U.S.: survey

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker, said today (Thursday) it has been named the best among non-premium brands in a U.S. quality test.

KIA said it got the best evaluation by J.D. Power and Associates, the largest U.S. market research firm, in this year's quality study.

The test outcome pushed up Kia to rank first among non-premium names by two spots from the previous year.

It repelled other world-class rivals Japan's Toyota and Audi of Germany.

Among all 33 brands, including luxury vehicles, the South Korean automaker ranked second, Kia added.