The luxury sedan brand Genesis under South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co. was rated as the top brand by Consumer Reports, a U.S.-based consumer magazine, beating out German rivals Audi AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW).

According to Consumer Reports on Thursday (local time), Genesis earned top place for the best car brand with a score of 81, edging out Audi and BMW to second and third spots, respectively. Among 34 brands tested, Audi received a score of 80 and BMW 79. Hyundai Motor’s sister company Kia Motors Corp. ranked sixth with a score of 76, bumping U.S. Tesla Inc. and Japan’s Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.

Shares of Hyundai Motor ended at 159,000 won ($147.9) on Friday, up 1.27 percent or 2,000 won from the previous session, while those of its affiliate Kia Motors rose 1.04 percent or 350 won to finish at 34,000 won.

The top spot earned by the Genesis brand is a result of Hyundai Motor’s continuous efforts to tap into the luxury vehicle market in the United States with a standalone nameplate and improved quality, according to market insiders.

“Genesis excels in our testing and owner satisfaction scores and has average reliability,” analyzed Consumer Reports.

Meanwhile, Tesla, electric vehicle maker, ranked eighth in the list with a score of 74, making its name as the highest-rated American car brand. Fiat, Jeep, and Land Rover were among the bottom three in the ranking.

Consumer Reports’ rankings of 34 brands are based on its own exhaustive vehicle testing, owner feedback and satisfaction ratings, reliability, and safety features.

Bloomberg dubbed Consumer Reports as “an influential source for product recommendations” among American consumers as “it doesn’t accept advertising, and buys the cars it tests.”

By Oh Shin-hye and Lee Eun-joo

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