In 2013, Kia Motors was the second-largest automobile manufacturer in South Korea, producing 75.2 million cars. Hyundai Motor Group has a division called Kia Motors. The corporation is based in Seoul and has eight automotive plants in the United States, Vietnam, China, and Slovakia. With 33.99 percent of the shares of Kia Motors, Hyundai is the largest stakeholder. The reader will learn about Kia Motors' development in this article.
Kia is one of the oldest automakers in South Korea and entered into the discussion of car manufacturing and production. The Ford plant helped Kia with this, and in 1986 they launched some Mazda models, such as the Mazda Familia, for both the domestic and foreign markets (for export). These models also included the Kia Pride (based on the Mazda 121) and the Kia Aula, which were sold in the North American and Australian markets under the names Ford Festiva and Ford Spire.
From 1986 to 1987, Kia Motors increased its car production from 26 units to 95,000 units in a year.
Kia opened a branch of its factory in the United States in 1992. The first Kia-branded car went on sale in February 1994 in the United States through four dealerships in Portland, Oregon. Since then, Kia's development method has become more targeted and more planned, and in 1994, it was able to sell its Kia Sefia model through its dealerships.
After that, with the production of Sportage, Sportage provided the ground for its expansion.
However, due to the bad economic situation in Asia in 1997, Kia went bankrupt and a part of Ford's shares was bought by Hyundai in 1998.
Kia Motors started producing Kia Mentor under the management of Hyundai to compete with Ford Escort and Apple Astra models in the European market. Due to the low price, it was able to provide a good market for itself in Europe.
What kept the Kia Mentor in the sedan category was the apparent facelift in 1999. Also in 1990, the hatchback of the Kia Mentor was introduced to the Kia Shuma.
Kia Motors did not enter the family car market until it produced the Kia Crodes (until 1999), but despite the production of this car, it was not very successful. The Credos is a four-door sedan in the Ford Mondeo-class sedan, but smaller than the Ford Focus when presented. It should be noted that Credos was at a high level in terms of equipment but still not attractive to consumers.
To revive its backwardness in the market, Kia Motors launched the Kia Magentis in 2001, but this car also followed the story of the Kia Credos. In 1999, Kia entered the MPV market with the Kia Sedona. MP They are multi-purpose vehicles. These types of cars have a lot of interior space and can accommodate a large volume of cargo, but do not pose a problem for crossing city roads. To compete in this market, Kia priced its cars below the prices of all MPVs in the UK.
The sale of this model of car until 2004 made Kia a serious presence in Europe and the world. The Sportage SUV also became popular throughout Europe, but from 2002 onwards, Kia was the main seller of the Kia Sorento.
Like any major automaker in the world, Kia could not ignore the US market, so it offers its products through a wide range of dealership networks, including 640 dealers. For the fourteenth consecutive year in 2008, Kia Motors broke its sales record by growing its US market share.
From 1995 to 1999, Kia Motors produced steering wheels for both the left and right sides of the car in Europe. All Kia Sportage cars sold were produced at the Kia Motors plant in Germany from 1999 to 2003, but the Kia Motors product line was relocated to South Korea again that year.
Kia started exporting its cars to Europe with the Kia Pride, and it was well received, but in 2000 there was no competition to buy it, so production was stopped. This fate was repeated for the Kia Rio, and in 2001 it was removed from the company's production line. In 2004, the company introduced the Kia Picanto product to the European market and was able to attract the attention of those customers who cared a lot about the price of the car. Kia Motors had a 16-year export history until 2007. So now in the theme Except for the luxury and sports car categories, it has been able to compete with other car manufacturers in the world.
source: Saadatrent car rental company in Dubai
