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Kia Car Company

Kia, roughly translated in Korean as meaning ‘Rising out of Asia', is South Koreas one of South Koreas oldest car manufacturers. It was founded in 1944, first as a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycles. It wasn't until 1952 when the company name changed from Kyungsung Precision Industry to Kia Industrial Company, that it had developed its first domestic bicycle.

About a decade later, in 1957, Kia began the Korean motor vehicle industry with the introduction of the C-100 motorcycle and only three months after that, Kia's production line was building three-wheeled trucks known as the K360. During its production until 1973, Kia had sold 25,000 of them. The Titan four-wheeled truck was next off the production line in 1971. It was so ubiquitous in Korea that the Korean Synonym for truck was Titan. Kia was also responsible for developing and selling Koreas first gasoline engine in 1973 and by the very next year, they had also developed Koreas first passenger car, called the Brisa. The Brisa was also the first car made in Korea to be exported after being sold to the Middle East. Kia was also responsible for Korea's first diesel engine, which was produced in 1978.

By 1979, Kia was producing cars under licence in Korea like the Peugot 604 and various Fiat Sedans. By 1986, Kia had formed an equity partnership with Ford which allowed them form the first time to produce vehicles for the world wide market. The first models to be exported were derived from Mazda cars like the Mazda 121. The new Pride and Avella cars were sold in both North America and Austalasia, with new names like the Ford Festiva and the Ford Espire respectively.

1984 saw Kia open its first fully integrated automobile production facility, which in turn bought about the development of Kia's first combustion engine. Since 1984. Kia have opened both domestically and overseas. There are currently two domestic manufacturing plants and four overseas, with the first of those being built in Japan in 1989.

Started in 1992, Kia Motors America was the next big event in Kia's calendar. Within two years, by 1994, Kia was officially entered into the American market, selling vehicles in a network of dealerships all based in California. Their European operations were also started up in between this time in 1993 with the launch of the Sephia passenger car.

The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 made life very difficult for Kia Motors, just at a time when they wanted to broaden their horizons; they were prevented from doing so by the government and their own financial restraints. What then followed was a very quick turnaround in 1998 when Hyundai Motors managed to outbid Ford and took over Kia. Just a year later and Kia was back in profit and has remained this way until today.

2002 saw Kia produce its 10 millionth car and become the Australian Tennis open sponsor. Operations across the world increased and today, Kia has plants and dealerships in 160 different countries, marking it as a true global company. The US market alone accounts for nearly 50% of Kia's exports, with Europe and Canada buying up mot of the remainder.

In early 2003, a new US design centre was opened by the Hyundai Motor Co and the Kia Motors Corp. Situated Irving California; it cost $30 million to build the 90,000 square foot centre. It is said to be “…the new mecca of automotive technology, attracting the finest automotive designers and engineers…" according to Mong-Koo Chung, the chairman and CEO of the two motoring companies. The design centre was opened alongside another joint venture with Hyundai and Kia which was one of the most comprehensive testing tracks ever built. Sections of the $60 million track are exact replica builds of some of California Highways.

A design centre based in Europe, solely for the use of Kia and completely separate from Hyundai, was opened in Frankfurt, Germany in 2007. Kias overall plans are to build their cars from scratch in as many different overseas markets. It is more than certain that Kia will unfold this plan although it has not yet been disclosed as to where the next stage of the development will unfold. The aim for Kia is to out-rank the worlds five top car manufacturers by as early as 2009. The future looks rosy for Kia.

Kia Car Insurance Models

Carens Cee'd Cerato Clarus Magentis Mentor Picanto Pride Rio Sedona Shuma Sorento Sportage