Kia Motors has been ranked the third highest in a customer survey on vehicle performance and design conducted by a U.S. market research firm.

Kia, the smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor, moved up from seventh last year to third this year in the 2016 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study by J.D. Power and Associates.

Hyundai, meanwhile, dropped from the second highest spot to ninth place this year.