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Korea's Kia Going Steady – A Short Brand Profile

The Korean car builder Kia was founded in 1944, producing not cars, but bicycle parts. It was the first company to produce a bike in Korea. Other light means of transport were developed, reaching the motorcycle area and eventually starting to build cars.

A Soaring Evolution towards International Fame

When the Kia plant was completed in 1973, it had all that it needed, and the best of the kind. It was the place in Korea where the first gasoline engine with internal combustion would be made. The first car, a medium passenger vehicle, was released in 1974, and was called Brisa. The modern technology exposed from the start got the attention of foreign manufacturers and thus Kia got to partner with Fiat and Peugeot, housing the production of Fiat 132 and Peugeot 604 among other models.

Growing to Become Competitive

In the 80's, Hyundai was Korea's first car producer, though. Kia grew to get closer to its size and in the meanwhile Pride and Avella were re-badged for the foreign markets. Ford Aspire is actually Kia's Avella. In 1992, the brand finally makes its way into the US.

The Decline and the Rebirth

As it has happened to many car builders in the past decades, the road was harder for Kia during the 90's. Sales were fewer in numbers and no new models would appear. The styling of Kia cars was party responsible for the downfall, as it wouldn't be exactly in tune with the customers' desires. Restructuring was a costly process. By 2001, the brand was going better again. The new offering was based on long warranty and quality. The new models, Sorento, Cee'd and Rio got the interest of the European market and the bold designs became a priority.

Recent Awards

In 2013, Kia has already received a series of flattering titles and awards for some of its latest models, of which we will present a few:

Kia Sportage is chosen for the top 10 Back-to-School cars.
Kia Optima LX titled the most affordable car in the midsize sedan range.
Kia Soul ranked #1 in the compact MPV class in the J.D. Power APEAL study.
Kia Soul listed among the coolest New Cars under $18,000.

The new Soul model for 2014 was already unveiled at the New York Auto Show. The future looks bright for Kia, as January 2012 was reported to have had the best-ever sales, an almost 28% growth compared to the previous similar period.

Kia Ceed Set To Compete With Brands Like VW Golf 2013-08-20 04:11:48 Kia Ceed having been launched, Volkswagen might be worried about the brand gaining in competition with its small and compact car segments.	Kia Motors Corporation, 2nd largest Korean Auto Giant 2013-11-30 00:07:06 Kia Motors Corporation a Korean automobile company owned by the Hyundai Motor Company is the second largest manufactures of cars after Hyundai. Kia manufactures a large range of vehicles in passenger cars, SUVs, Vans, Commercial vehicles, Hybrid Electrical Vehicles and concept cars. Hyundai Motor Company owns its 38.2% of the stocks and the company has its headquarters at Seoul South Korea. Its sales were over a 2.7 million vehicles in 2012.
Kia Motors Corporation – A Global Leader in Car Manufacturing 2014-01-12 00:26:06 The Kia Motor Corporation is a Korean automaker with its headquarters in Seoul. Being South Korea's second largest vehicle manufacturer next to Hyundai Motors, the sales of Kia vehicles reached about 2.7 million vehicles last year. Kia was established in 1944 and they first made cycle parts and steel tubing. In 2012, Hyundai took over about 32.8% shares of Kia Motors.	Kia Optima Hybrid-Fuel efficient car and safety based one 2014-02-06 01:41:36 Being a classy sedan, Kia Optima Hybrid traces its history back to the days of 2011. Possessing a 2.4 L engine, the car is mated with a 6 speed automatic transmission. Considered as lowest fuel consumption in a Hybrid gasoline vehicle, the car possesses the lithium polymer batteries in order to produce the gasoline electric hybrid version. Being a third generation car, this car is much popular nowadays.
The improved 2014 Kia Soul with hordes of premium features 2014-02-20 00:50:15 The new 2014 Kia Soul from the Korean automakers is a serious version of its old hatchback, which was referred as a hamster car and had weird features such as speakers that change colors. The new model Kia shows that it has gone through revamping and has matured greatly. The earlier hatchback was upright and comical whereas the new model offers an aggressive stance with square shoulders and round fenders. The car might look familiar to buyers because it has stolen features from Track’str concept such as improved tiger nose grilles and the large lower air intake. Though it is very much a Soul in the front the back projects a different outlook and it is visually better.

Image	Model	Years
	Kia Cadenza	2014-2014
	Kia Forte	2010-2014
	Kia Optima	2001-2013
	Kia Quoris	2014-2014
	Kia Rio	2001-2013
	Kia Sedona	2002-2014
	Kia Sorento	2003-2014
	Kia Soul	2010-2014
	Kia Sportage	1995-2013