History
The second largest automobile company in South Korea, the Kia Motors Corporation was founded in 1944, making it the oldest automaker in the country. Kia Motors did not get their start in the production of automobiles. Their first venture was the manufacturing of bicycle parts. This included the manufacturing of steel tubing and other bicycle parts. This switched to the complete production of bicycles in 1951 and the following year officially changed their name to Kia Motors Company. By 1957 Kia Motors were manufacturing motorcycles and added trucks to their lineup in 1962. It was not until 1974 that Kia Motors began producing passenger cars.
From 1981 to 1985, Kia Motors was unable to produce passenger cars and had to solely manufacture light trucks as part of the industry consolidation implemented by the dictator Chun Doo-hwan. After production resumed in 1986, Kia motors started a partnership with Ford and produced 95,000 vehicles. As part of this venture, Kia produced the Kia Pride and the Kia Avella, which were also produced around Asia and Australia under the Ford names Festiva and Aspire. Both models are derived from Mazda designs. The Kia Pride and the Kia Avella would remain in production until 2000, after being replaced by the Kia Rio –which is still in production.
Kia Motors have continued to grow over the years, expanding into new markets and broadening their lineup. The first Chaebol (business conglomerate) in South Korea, Kia Motors started off in the bicycle industry and now produces over 1.5 million vehicles per year. They have manufacturing plants located in eight different countries and export their vehicles to over 172 countries. A truly global corporation, Kia Motors also sponsors FIFA and the Australian Open.
Major Events
Kia Motors began producing military vehicles in 1976. After being given a military contract, Kia Motors established Kia Heavy Industry Company. The majority of the vehicles produced for the military are trucks, including a licensed variation of the Jeep brand.
In 1997, Kia Motors had to declare bankruptcy after the Asian financial crisis of the previous year. Both Ford and Hyundai Motor Company showed interest in purchasing part or all of Kia Motors. Hyundai Motor Company stepped in to save the company by acquiring 51% of Kia Motors. Currently, Hyundai Motor Company owns around a 32.8% stake in Kia Motors.
Kia started exporting vehicles in Europe in 1991, starting with the Kia Pride and expanding their lineup over the years. Kia created Kia Motors Europe to handle European sales and marketing. Early attempts at entering the British market were difficult, with only 1,800 vehicles being sold in 1991. This increased to 5,500 in 1993 before receding. By 1998, the sales of Kia vehicles in the United Kingdom had dropped to less than 3,000. Kia would continue to seek improvement in the British market and would finally achieve success in 2009 when they sold over 50,000 vehicles in Britain. Since 2005, Kia has stated that their focus is on their sales in the European market. With a strong dominance in the domestic market, Kia sees room for growth in Europe, with sales rising each year.
Going Forward
Over the next few years it will be important to keep an eye on Kia as they have committed to developing new cars in the B segment and hybrid market. With concept cars such as the Kia Provo having been introduced, Kia has proven that is has the engineering capability and design prowess to create some truly innovative cars. Another future car they have developed on the concept side is the GT4 Stinger, that is a rear-wheel drive sports car that looks incredible, however plans to bring the concept to production are still in the dark. Other advancements are present in the 2014 Kia Soul which will be hitting the pavement this year, and a line of other hybrid technologies being tested and designed at Kia headquarters. Stay tuned to see what else Kia has up it’s sleeve.
