Hyundai Transys tops J.D. Power's car-seat ranking for compacts

Industry

Hyundai Transys tops J.D. Power's car-seat ranking for compacts

Published: 04 Sep. 2024, 17:34 Updated: 04 Sep. 2024, 19:17

SARAH CHEA
chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr

Hyundai Transys employees prepare a crash test dummy for a test at the company's Seat R&D Center in Dongtan, Gyeonggi. [HYUNDAI TRANSYS]

Hyundai Transys took the top spot in the 2024 J.D. Power compact car-seat category for the first time in its history, beating big names like Lear.

The Korean car-seat maker said Wednesday that Kia's Forte, known as K3 in the domestic market, that is fitted with Hyundai Transys' seat came in at No. 1 in the mass-market small and compact car-seat category in terms of seat quality and satisfaction.

J.D. Power collected feedback from 99,144 car owners who had driven the vehicle for at least 90 days to determine their dissatisfaction levels to measure the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles. Lower scores correspond to greater customer satisfaction. The Kia compact earned a score of 6.5.

It's the first time Hyundai Transys topped the ranking since 2020 when the automaker first entered the list. In 2023, it was ranked No. 2 in the compact and large-sized car-seat category.

The seat maker currently has plants in 11 countries including Korea, the United States and India, supplying car seats to many global auto brands including Hyundai Motor, its luxury brand Genesis and Kia as well as the U.S. EV companies Rivian and Lucid, both of which are supplied exclusively by the seat maker.

The company will produce seats for Hyundai's EVs next to the automaker's facility in Georgia which is under construction.

"Hyundai Transys is leading in seat development, regarding passenger safety and convenience as the top priority," said Seo Seung-woo, head of the seat business division of Hyundai Transys.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]