Kia Corporation () is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, after its parent company, Hyundai Motor Company, with global sales of over 3.1 million vehicles in 2025. Hyundai Motor Company is Kia’s largest shareholder, holding 35.17% of the company as of 2025; Hyundai Motor Company and related parties together hold 36.99%.
Etymology According to the company, "Kia" derives from the Hanja (, 'to arise') and (, which stands for 亞細亞, meaning 'Asia'); it is roughly translated as 'rising from (East) Asia'.
History
Origins and the early expansion Kia was founded in May 1944 as Kyungsung Precision Industry (), a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts, eventually producing South Korea's first domestic bicycle, the Samchuly, in 1951. In 1952, Kyungsung Precision Industry changed its name to Kia Industries. The company later built Honda-licensed small motorcycles (starting in 1957), as well as Mazda-licensed trucks (1962).
The company opened its first integrated automotive assembly plant, the Sohari Plant, in 1973. Its first modele were the Mazda-based Brisa range of small cars in 1974 and the Brisa II/K303 family car in 1975. It also assembled two French models under license: the Fiat 132 and the Peugeot 604. 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.
In 1981, the new military dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry consolidation. This forced Kia to stop producing passenger carsand focus entirely on light trucks. Kia assembled a few hundred more cars in 1982 and 1983, after the ban had taken effect, but no passenger cars were built in 1984 or 1985.
Kia rejoined the automobile industry in 1986, in partnership with American company Ford. It built only 26 units the first year, but quickly grew to over 95,000 the next year. Kia produced several Mazda-derived vehicles both for domestic sales in South Korea and for export into other countries, where they were positioned at the budget end of the market. 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 Industries was renamed Kia Motors Corporation in 1990.
In 1992, Kia Motors America was incorporated in the United States. The first Kia-branded car in the United States, the Sephia, began sales the following year from four dealerships in Portland, Oregon. The Sephia went for sale in Europe in 1994. The company then expanded its line with the Sportage sport utility vehicle, which was also built in Germany by Karmann for the European market. Over one hundred Kia dealerships existed across thirty states by 1995, selling a record 24,740 automobiles.
Hyundai Motor Company takeover 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. Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51% in the company in that year, leading to the formation of Hyundai Motor Group. After subsequent divestments, Hyundai Motor Company owns about one third of Kia Motor Corporation. While Hyundai Motor Company remains Kia's largest stakeholder, Kia also retains ownership in some 22 Hyundai subsidiaries.
Later development
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'. 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. Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia opened in February 2010, after Kia recorded its 15th consecutive year of increased U.S. market share.
Kia started using an angular "KIA" wordmark logo and removed "Motors" from its corporate name to become Kia Corporation from January 2021 onwards. In November 2021, Kia announced a roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality across its value chain by 2045. The company said it planned to reduce 97% of its 2019-level carbon emissions and offset the remainder, while fully electrifying its vehicle line-up in Europe by 2035.
Kia's Tasman pickup truck made its global debut at the Jeddah International Motor Show in Saudi Arabia on 29 Oct. 2024. At its 2025 Kia EV Day in Tarragona, Spain, on 27 February 2025, Kia unveiled the EV4, the PV5—its first dedicated Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) model—and the Concept EV2, expanding its electrified line-up.
Board of directors As of March 2023:
Chung Eui-sun, Chairman Song Ho-sung, President and CEO Choi Jun-young, Executive Vice President and Chief Safety Officer Joo Woo-jeong, Executive Vice President & CFO Han Chol-su, Outside Director Jo Wha-sun, Outside Director Chyun Chan-hyuk, Outside Director Shin Jae-young, Outside Director Jennifer Hyunjong Shin, Outside Director
Previous CEOs Chung Eui-Sun (2005–2009) Hyong-keun (Hank) Lee (2009–2017) Park Han-woo (2017–2020)
Affiliates and subsidiaries Hyundai Motor Company
As of 2025, Hyundai Motor Company is Kia’s largest shareholder, holding 137,318,251 common shares, or 35.17% of the company. Hyundai Motor Company and related parties together hold 36.99%, while the National Pension Service is disclosed as a major shareholder with a 7.25% stake.
Kia America
Kia Motors America (KMA), now known as Kia America, Inc., was incorporated in California on October 21, 1992, and became the American sales, marketing, and distribution arm of Kia Corporation. Kia America is based in Irvine, California, and currently offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 755 dealers throughout the United States. The first two models that were introduced to the U.S. market in 1993 were KIA Sephia and Kia Sportage 4x4. In the United States, sales began in late 1993 for the 1994 model year, at four dealerships in Portland, Oregon.
As a brand, KMA has continued to improve over the years as well; in 2013, Kia Motors America recorded its 18th consecutive year of increased U.S. market share, and for the past five consecutive years (2015–2019) it has been recognized by J.D. Power as the highest ranked mass market brand in initial quality.
In November 2009, Kia started production at the first U.S. Kia Motors plant, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, in West Point. Though the Kia Sorento crossover vehicle was the only model to be assembled there at first, the facility has since expanded its production lines to include the Kia Optima mid-size sedan, now sold as the K5, in 2011 and the Kia Telluride crossover SUV in January 2019. As of September 2019, the location has successfully built over 3 million units of these three models altogether, and shortly after celebrated another milestone by reaching its 10th year of production in November 2019. Currently, the facility has a production capacity of 340,000 vehicles per year (largely dedicated to the Telluride and Sorento crossover SUVs) and is responsible for distributing them to hundreds of dealerships in the U.S. and Canada, as well as fulfilling shipments across North America and even overseas. In 2025, Kia America posted total sales of 852,155 units, its highest annual total and the first time it surpassed 800,000 units, up 7% from 2024 and marking a third consecutive annual sales record.
Kia Canada
Kia Canada was formed in 1999 as a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation serving the Canadian market. It is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, where it employs approximately 180 people. Kia Canada is best known for its mid-market lineup of sport utility vehicles and crossovers, which are midway in size between SUVs and ordinary sedans, and increasingly for its electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. In 2021, Kia Canada introduced a new logo and slogan, "Movement that inspires". In 2025, Kia Canada set an annual sales record with 94,622 vehicles sold, up 9.2% from 2024.
Kia Central & South America Corp. Kia Central & South America Corp. is an incorporated division of Kia Corporation in charge of sales and marketing in 43 countries across Central and South America (including Brazil), and the Caribbean. The regional headquarters is located in Miami, Florida (US).
Kia Europe Kia Europe is the European sales and marketing division of Kia Corporation. It has been selling cars in Europe since the first half of 1991.
Kia Motors Europe is formally founded in 1995, in Neu Wulmstorf (near Hamburg). In 1997, Kia moves its European headquarters from Neu Wulmstorf to Bremen, and due to logistical reasons since around 2005, Kia moved its European headquarters to Eschborn (near Frankfurt).
In 2007, KME moved from its previous location at Hauptstrasse 185, Eschborn (near Frankfurt), to a new purpose-built facility adjacent to the Messe, in Frankfurt city centre.
When Kia launched in Europe during 1991, it initially sold only the Pride supermini – a rebadged version of the late 1980s Mazda 121. It initially proved popular with buyers. By the end of 1991, Kia had sold nearly 1,800 Prides in the United Kingdom. The first full year, 1992, saw that figure double, and, in 1993, it increased again to nearly 5,500 units. However, sales fell towards the end of the decade, and the end of production was finally announced in May 2000, with its successor – the Rio – not going on sale for another year.
From 1995 to 1999, Kia produced left- and right-hand drive versions of the first generation Sportage SUV at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany. These have been popular across Europe, but, since 2002, Kia has gained more sales in this market thanks to the launch of the larger Sorento. From 1999 until production of the model ceased in 2003, all Sportage production reverted to South Korea.
The European range also expanded in the spring of 1994 when Kia began importing the larger Mentor, a range of medium-sized hatchbacks and sedans which were marketed as inexpensive and well-equipped alternatives to the likes of the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall/Opel Astra.
A facelift in 1999 saw the Mentor name retained for the saloon (sedan), but the hatchback was renamed Shuma. These models remained on sale until 2004, when the newer Cerato was launched and gave Kia one of its first serious competitors against mainstream brands. The Clarus saloon and Sedona MPV were also launched onto the UK market during 1999, helping Kia begin its rise in popularity.
Despite Kia's range increasing from one car as late as 1993, to three cars by the end of 1995, British sales actually decreased in that period, from nearly 5,500 in 1993 to less than 4,000 the following year. In 1998, Kia's future in Britain was thrown into serious doubt when it sold less than 3,000 of its whole range – the worst in any full year on the British market. Kia did not enter Europe's large family car market until the launch of its Clarus four-door sedan in 1999 – a year behind schedule due to the financial difficulties that Kia was facing before it was taken over by Hyundai. This car was similar in size to the Ford Mondeo and the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, but, on its launch, was actually less expensive to buy than the smaller Focus and the Astra. It had a spacious interior, large boot, competitive asking price, and high equipment levels, but it had little more appeal to sway buyers away from established European brands like Ford, Vauxhall/Opel and Peugeot.