ABOUT KIA

Past

Kia has been providing the world with exciting cars for over six decades. Founded in 1944 asKyungsung Precision Industry, Kia is currently Korea's second largest car manufacturer and it’s oldest. From the company's production of Korea's first domestic bicycle, Kia moved on to producing Korea's first motorcycle and the country's first truck. Kia then became the first company in Korea to locally produce petrol car engines and the first domestic diesel engine. In 1979, the quality of Kia's car production was recognised when two of the world's leading European car makers chose Kia to build their 'range topper' models on their behalf - the Peugeot 604 and Fiat 132.

 But it was in the1980's that Kia's growth really took off. In 1986 Ford joined the list of car makers who looked to Kia to produce their vehicles. The Festiva (produced by Kia) joined Ford's line up first in the USA, then across the world including Australia, where Kia produced two generations of Ford's entry-level car.

Present

Kia has now been in Australia for more than ten years and there are more than 120,000 Kia cars on Australian roads.

 Building over 2 million vehicles a year in 14 plants across nine countries, we pride ourselves on delivering what other car companies cannot - are remarkably diverse range of vehicles sold in over 172 countries around the world.

Research and Development

Our commitment to global research and development includes state-of-the-art centres in Germany, Japan and the United States. As a result our cars embody some of the smartest automotive thinking in the world. It’s this dedication to research and development that has made us one of the fastest growing car companies in Europe, and the brand to watch in over 160 countries in which our cars are sold.