Kia is the South Korean car manufacturer founded in 1944. It began not as a carmaker but as Kyungsung Precision Industry, a company producing steel tubing and bicycle components in what was then Korea under Japanese rule.
In 1951, the company produced the Samchuly, regarded as South Korea’s first domestic bicycle. It adopted the name Kia Industries in 1952, later moving into motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Kia built Honda-licensed motorcycles from 1957 and Mazda-licensed trucks from 1962 before producing its first passenger cars.
Kia opened the Sohari Plant in 1973, its first integrated automotive assembly facility. The company produced the Mazda-based Brisa range during the 1970s, although government-led industrial consolidation in the early 1980s temporarily forced it to concentrate on light trucks.
The name Kia Motors became familiar internationally during its later expansion. In 1998, Kia entered bankruptcy during the Asian financial crisis and was acquired by Hyundai Motor Company, which remains its largest shareholder. Kia is now a global manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, while Hyundai and Kia operate as separate brands within the wider Hyundai Motor Group.