is a
South Korean automobile manufacturer. Its president is
Chung Eui-sun .
South Korea's oldest car company, Kia was founded in
1944 . It later produced several
Mazda models under licence, including the Pride (based on the
121 ) and Avella, which were sold in
North America and
Australasia as the
Ford Festiva and
Ford Aspire . The name "Kia" (기아, 起亞) roughly translates as "Arising from Asia" in
Korean and
Chinese characters.
In
1992 ,
Kia Motors America was incorporated in the United States. The first Kia-branded vehicles in America were sold from four dealerships in
Portland, Oregon in February 1994. Since then, Kia expanded methodically one region at a time. Dealers in
1994 sold the
Sephia , and a few years later the United States line expanded with the addition of the
Sportage . Despite being taken over by Hyundai, Kia vehicles were considerably less reliable than those from competitors, and relied largely on ten-year powertrain
Warranties for sales. (Also see
Hyundai Motor Company ) Kia has consistently ranked last on
J.D. Power And Associates durability index. In recent years however, Kia has worked to improve the reliabilty of their vehicles and for one year (2004), it improved to 2nd last (Last place went to
Land Rover ). The next year it regained its traditional title as the least durable.
Kia's troubles in
1997 helped to push South Korea into the
Asian Financial Crisis , and it was acquired in
1998 by the
Hyundai Motor Company . Hyundai resisted this move but were forced by the Korean government to take over Kia as part of the strategy to fix Korea's financial crisis.
Due to the success that came to Kia after Hyundai took over, Kia sales have improved dramatically 1998-2005. Kia announced on
March 12 ,
2006 that they would build their first North American plant in
West Point, Georgia {Link without Title} .
also manufactures bicycles, some of which are sold in the United States.
Kia is one of the companies of the
Hyundai Motor Group and has four subsidiaries:
Dongfeng Yueda Kia Automobile Company is a
Joint Venture in China with
Dongfeng Motor Corporation .
;Kia Motors Group
;Subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group
;Kia Motors Group
;Hyundai Motor Group
;Kia Motors Group
;Hyundai Motor Group
;Main (Korea & Other)
