KIA Motors – The Empire Of The Popular Korean Brand

Kia Motors is one of Korea’s leading automobile makers. Since its establishment in December of the year 1944, the company has grown into becoming a global brand (majorly the 74th leading brand across the globe).

With selling more than three million automobiles per annum through its 19 sales offices and 4,821 dealerships in the overseas markets that are outside the nation of its origin. It was founded as the Kyungsung Precision Industry, which was involved in the line of business as a budding manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts. It later went up to producing Korea’s first native bicycle, the Samchully, in the year 1951.

In 1952, the Kyungsung Precision Industry decided to change its name and after deep thinking by the owners, Kyungsung Precision Industry became and popularly came to be known as the Kia Motor Corporation. To become a leading and best automobile seller, it began to build the Honda licensed small motorcycles (starting in the year 1957) and the famous Mazda licensed trucks (starting in the year 1962) and cars (starting in the year 1974).

Kia was producing popular passenger cars like the Fiat 123 and Peugeot 604. After the enforcement of industry consolidation by the invasion of the military dictator Chun Doo Hwan, the Kia Motor Corporation ended their production of the small Brisa range of cars in 1981. It also forced Kia Motor Corporation to shift its focus from passenger cars to light trucks.

After some time the manufacturers felt the need to get back in the game of the automobile industry. They were supported by a renowned company in the business known as Ford. Kia and Ford came into partnership in the automobile industry. For worldwide and domestic sales, Kia Motor Corporation produced a series of cars for Mazda. Kia Pride, Mazda 121, Ford Festiva, Ford Aspire, and Avella were some of the popular car models produced. An affiliate Kia Motor America was established in the United States of America in the year 1992. 

Unfortunately, in the year of 1997, Kia Motor Corporation declared bankruptcy. In 1998, the company reached and formed an agreement with the Hyundai motor company to diversify by trading ownership between the two companies. Hyundai Motor Company procured and acquired 51% stakes of the company, outbidding the stakes of the Ford Motor Corporation. In 2003, to reduce C02 emissions and promote a healthier and greener environment, Kia Motors launched the Global Environment Management campaign.

From the year 2005, Kia`s focus shifted to the European automobile markets due to their future engine prospects in the business. In August 2014, special attention was given by international audiences to the Kia Soul, the best compact car of the brand. In 2016, Kia Motors model consistency and steadfastness was ranked first in the United States by J.D. Power and Associates and went on to becoming the first non-luxury automaker since 1989 to top that list.

Here are some of the best and trending cars launched by Kia that have proven to be the best-sellers and have generated huge amounts of revenue for the company-

1. KIA Seltos – Seltos is one of the leading and trending cars in the markets. The car is built to be highly versatile and is launched in 5 variants along with three engines options. The compact SUV is powered by a 1493cc engine and provides a mileage of 20.8kmph, the car commences for Rs. 10 Lakhs and goes as up as Rs.18.10 Lakh depending upon the variants. With both automatic and manual transmissions available, the car has a boot space of 433 liters and a seating capacity of 5.
2. KIA Sonet – This model is one of the latest drops by the company in the markets and has become a favorite among many already. This car is launched in 6 variants and all of them have various features and specifications such as sunroofs, alloy wheels, airbags, and many more. The car is powered by a diesel engine of 1493cc and a petrol engine of 998cc – 1197cc depending upon the variants and provides a mileage of 24.1kmph. The car commences for Rs.6.9 Lakhs and goes as up as Rs.13.55Lakh depending upon the variants. The car has a boot space of 433 liters, a fuel tank capacity of 45 liters, and a seating capacity of 5.
3. KIA Carnival – This is one of the most competitive cars in the market due to its resembling looks and features from the MUVs and SUVs of many competitive brands. Despite this fact, the car is equipped with numerous features which enable tit outstand the others. The car is powered by a diesel engine of 2199cc and provides a mileage of 14.11kmph. The car commences for Rs. 25 Lakhs and goes as up as Rs.34Lakh depending upon the variants. The MUV has a boot space of 540 liters, with 4 cylinders and a seating capacity of 7,8 and even 9 depending upon the model and variant.

Being considered backward in the competition led by the companies like Honda, Toyota, etc., it still managed to stay bold and strong to become the fastest growing automobile manufacturers in the world.