Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia opened in February 2010, after Kia recorded its 15th consecutive year of increased U.S. In October 2006, Kia Motors America broke ground for Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia in West Point, Georgia, representing a US$1 billion investment for the company. Since 2005, Kia has focused on the European market and has identified design as its "core future growth engine" – leading to the hiring of Peter Schreyer in 2006 as chief design officer and his subsequent creation of a new corporate grille known as the 'Tiger Nose'. While Hyundai Motor Company remains Kia's largest stakeholder, Kia Motor Company also retains ownership in some 22 Hyundai Motor Company subsidiaries. After subsequent divestments, Hyundai Motor Company owns about one third of Kia Motor Corporation. Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51% of the company, outbidding Ford Motor Company, which had owned an interest in Kia Motors since 1986. Kia declared bankruptcy in 1997, during the Asian financial crisis, and in 1998 reached an agreement with Hyundai Motor Company to diversify by exchanging ownership between the two companies. Over one hundred Kia dealerships existed across thirty states by 1995, selling a record 24,740 automobiles. Dealers in 1994 sold the Sephia and a few years later the United States segment expanded their line with the Sportage. Since then, Kia methodically expanded one region at a time. The first Kia-branded vehicles in the United States were sold from four dealerships in Portland, Oregon, in 1992. In 1992, Kia Motors America was incorporated in the United States. These models included the Kia Pride, based on the Mazda 121 and the Avella, which were sold in North America and Australasia as the Ford Festiva and Ford Aspire. Kia produced several Mazda-derived vehicles for both domestic sales in South Korea and for export into other countries - where they were positioned at the budget end of the market. Starting in 1986 (when only 26 cars were manufactured, followed by over 95,000 the next year), Kia rejoined the automobile industry in partnership with Ford. The import of these knock-down kits was permitted as long as Kia exported five cars for every single Fiat or Peugeot brought in (Hyundai had to meet the same requirement). Prior to the forced 1981 shutdown, Kia had rounded out its passenger car lineup with two other foreign models assembled under license: the Fiat 132 and the Peugeot 604. Kia assembled a few hundred more cars in 19, after the ban had taken effect, but no passenger cars were built in 19. This forced Kia to give up passenger cars and focus entirely on light trucks. Kia built the small Mazda-based Brisa range of cars until 1981, when production came to an end after the new military dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry consolidation. The company opened its first integrated automotive assembly plant in 1973, the Sohari Plant. In 1952, Kyungsung Precision Industry changed its name to Kia Industries, and later built Honda-licensed small motorcycles (starting in 1957) and Mazda-licensed trucks (1962) and cars (1974). Kia was founded on June 9, 1944, as Kyungsung Precision Industry, a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts, eventually producing Korea's first domestic bicycle, the Samchuly, in 1951. History Kia Motors' South Korean factory Kia logo from 1994 to 2021 Origins and early expansion Kia in turn is a minority owner of more than twenty Hyundai subsidiaries ranging from 4.9% up to 45.37%, totaling more than US$8.3 billion.Īccording to the company, the name "Kia" derives from the Sino-Korean characters 起 ( ki, 'to arise') and 亞 ( a, which stands for 亞細亞, meaning 'Asia') it is roughly translated as "Rising from ( East) Asia". As of 2015, the Kia Corporation is minority owned by Hyundai, which holds a 33.88% stake valued at just over US$6 billion. It is South Korea's second largest automobile manufacturer, after its parent company, Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 2.8 million vehicles in 2019. Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia ( Korean: 기아, IPA: stylized as KИ) and formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工业) and Kia Motors Corporation, is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.
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