Kia
Kia Motors Corporation, based in Seoul, is South Korea’s second-largest automobile manufacturer after the Hyundai Motor Company with 2012 sales of over 2.7 million vehicles. According to Kia, its name translate roughly as “out of Asia.” Kia’s corporate slogan is “The Power to Surprise.”
South Korea’s oldest car company, Kia opened for business in June 1944 as a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts. In 1951, Kia began building complete bicycles, in 1957 motorcycles, in 1962 trucks, and in 1974 cars. The company opened its first integrated automotive assembly plant in 1973 and built the Brisa range of small cars until 1981, when a dictatorial military government imposed industry consolidation that required Kia to give up passenger cars and produce light trucks only.
In 1986, Kia resumed car production in partnership with Ford, producing for both domestic and export sales the Kia Pride based on the Mazda 121 and the Avella marketed as the Ford Festiva and Aspire. In 1992, the company formed the new American business corporation Kia Motors America in the USA. In February 1994, four dealerships in Portland, Oregon sold the first Kia-branded vehicles on the American market. Since then, Kia has expanded methodically region by region. Dealers in 1994 sold the Sephia model and a few years later the Sportage. In 1995, more than 100 Kia dealerships in 30 states sold 24,740 cars.
In 1997, however, during the Asian financial crisis, Kia went into bankruptcy, and in 1998 Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51 percent of Kia stock, since reduced to 32.8 percent after some divestiture; nevertheless, Hyundai remains a major Kia stockholder.
In October 2006, Kia broke ground for Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia in West Point, Georgia, a $1 billion investment. The manufacturing facility opened in February 2010, after Kia’s 15th consecutive year of increased American market share, and now builds the Sorento crossover vehicle and the Optima sedan.
Kia produces vehicles in 13 manufacturing and assembly locations in eight countries. Sales and services are through a network of distributors and dealers in 172 countries. Kia today has 42,000+ employees worldwide and annual revenues of $14.6+ billion. Kia Motors America is Kia’s American marketing, sales, and distribution sector offering the full line of vehicles through 755 dealers around the USA. In August 2009, Kia was the 8th-best selling automotive brand in the USA, outselling both Chrysler and Mazda.
At the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, Asian rivals Kia and Toyota unveiled concept sports cars that seem to appeal to different demographics. Toyota said its FT-1 would deliver performance lacking in its capable but predictable fleet, adding that it has not decided whether to produce the car displayed and disclosing no specifications for it. Kia, meanwhile, appears to foresee a younger clientele for its 315-horsepower GT4 Stinger, also making its first appearance at the auto show, citing the Mazda MX5 and Scion FR-S and not Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Porsche, as possible competitors.
Toyota and Kia, a much smaller South Korean Hyundai affiliate, are in vastly different situations, but both say a new sports car could invigorate their brands. For Toyota it would bring an excitement missing since the Supra left the American market in 1998 and, although Kia has no any track record in sports cars, it could succeed if priced under $25,000, the same price range as the FR-S.
